Paraguay delivered the biggest upset of the 2026 FIFA World Cup knockouts on Monday, stunning Germany with a 4-3 penalty-kick shootout win in the Round of 32 at Boston Stadium.
Atlanta United No. 10 Miguel Almirón and Vancouver Whitecaps FC midfielder Andrés Cubas both started, while Orlando City’s Braian Ojeda was a late substitute off the bench as La Albirroja played the four-time World Cup champions to a 1-1 draw over 90 minutes, plus 30 additional minutes of extra time.
In the ensuing shootout, goalkeeper Orlando Gil was the hero, blocking two shots and forcing a miss by Jonathan Tah before José Canale buried the decisive PK.
Paraguay will now travel to Philadelphia for a July 4 Round-of-16 date against France or Sweden.
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Back from suspension, Almirón was vital in his return to the starting XI.
After Damián Bobadilla broke up a German counterattack in the 42nd minute, Miggy linked up with former Atlanta United teammate Matías Galarza, who served up Julio Enciso’s close-range header that opened the scoring.
Germany found the leveler via Kai Havertz’s 54th-minute header, but Paraguay held firm, getting a massive 120-minute shift from Cubas.
Fellow midfielder Ojeda, who didn't see action during Group D play, entered the match in the 99th minute to help keep Germany off the scoreboard.
Historic upset
Monday's result will go down in history as an all-time World Cup upset.
Before this summer's tournament, Germany had only lost twice to South American opposition: against Argentina in the 1986 final and Brazil in the 2002 final. Last week, they dropped their Group E finale, 2-1, to Ecuador before their stunning Round-of-32 elimination.
Additionally, Paraguay handed the four-time World Cup champions their first-ever PK shootout loss at the competition.
Almirón, Cubas and Ojeda will look to guide La Albirroja to even greater heights in the Round of 16. The country's best-ever World Cup performance came in 2010 with a run to the quarterfinals.
