Day 2 of the World Cup round of 32 already delivered a huge upset: Germany lost to penalties against Paraguay, and have been knocked out, therefore extending to a third World Cup their awful streak: since they were champions in 2014, they have failed to reached round of 16 in 2018, 2022 and now 2026, losing in this new knockout round. It appears Lineker was right after all...
Germany leaves World Cup winning two matches, against Curaçao and Ivory Coast, and losing two against Ecuador and now Paraguay. Jonathan Tah (who had a goal controversially disallowed by VAR before), Nick Woltemade and Kai Havertz missed their penalties in the final shootout, with Paraguayan goalkeeper Orlando Gil saving two of those. He helped make history: Germany had never lost a penalty shootout in a World Cup, even if Manuel Neuer broke his unwanted record as he saved a penalty for the first time in two years.
Earlier on Monday, Brazil suffered but avoided a potential similar situation when they beat Japan 2-1 in the last minute of regular time with a goal by substitute Martinelli, similarly to what Canada did to South Africa.
Brazil will face the winner of Ivory Coast vs. Norway on Sunday, July 5 at 22:00 CEST, 21:00 BST, and Paraguay will face the winner of France vs. Sweden on Saturday, July 4, at 23:00 CEST, 22:00 BST. Will this be the end of Julian Nagelsmann as head coach for Germany?
