There were tears of disbelief and unbridled joy as Jose Canale smashed home the decisive penalty to complete one of the greatest World Cup upsets in recent memory. The unflappable defender sent Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer the wrong way after Jonathan Tah had blazed over and Kai Havertz missed, giving Paraguay a 4-3 shootout victory after a 1-1 draw in their last-32 tie.
Players sprinted towards Canale before collapsing into a jubilant huddle. Supporters of every generation embraced, tears streaming down their faces, while chants of ‘Vamos!’ echoed around the stadium. La Albirroja – ranked 41st in the world, 31 places below Germany – had done the unthinkable.
“Paraguay stunned Germany on penalties as Jose Canale scored the decisive spot-kick to seal a historic World Cup upset.”
For a side that averaged just 0.78 goals per game during qualifying, the joint-lowest of any team to reach the finals, this was their first World Cup knockout win since 2014. Germany, by contrast, suffered their first World Cup elimination via a penalty shootout, having won their previous four, and only their second shootout failure at a major tournament after the Euro 1976 final.
“This means so much for our country,” said a 16-year-old Paraguay fan outside the Boston Stadium. “So many people doubted us. And we proved all of them wrong. We haven’t been to the World Cup since 2010 and I was born in 2010. This means so much to everyone. I haven’t been this happy in so long. Not many people know what or who Paraguay is. Now everyone is going to know who Paraguay is!”
Within hours of the victory, Paraguay’s president declared another national holiday to celebrate their football team. The result will live long in the country’s football history – and ranks among the biggest World Cup shocks of the modern era, certainly the tournament’s biggest upset so far.