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By Megan Armstrong
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Germany led a 7-1 thrashing on Curaçao in their opening match at the 2026 FIFA men's World Cup, and it was all downhill from there.
Yes, Germany defeated Ivory Coast, but they followed that with an eyebrow-raising 2-1 loss to Ecuador.
Yes, Germany still won Group E, and, yes, they reached the knockout stage for the first time since 2014.
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But any fringe feel-good derived from that abruptly ended in the Round of 32 on Monday, when Paraguay upset Germany on penalties.
"We haven't played top against any opponent," Germany captain Joshua Kimmich said post-match, per Sky's Patrick Berger. "Three times we had big problems against teams that aren't world-class. That's a fact. We were completely deservedly eliminated."
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Germany and Paraguay were knotted in an intense battle all afternoon. While Germany dominated possession, Paraguay more than held its own. Paraguay took a lead just before half on a Julio Enciso goal, and Germany's Kai Havertz found the equalizer in the 54th minute. After extra time, we went to penalties, where Germany missed three penalty shots, and Paraguay won 4-3.
This marks Germany's first loss on penalties in a major tournament since 1976, per ESPN.
Havertz, who missed his penalty, echoed Kimmich's sentiment in his post-match interview.
"Shock probably is a good word," Havertz said, per FOX Sports. "It's hard to find words after something like this because we came here with a goal in our head, especially also after the last couple of tournaments. We had big goals, and I thought we were in a good way, and then to go out like this, not easy."
Germany has won four men's World Cup titles, most recently in 2014.
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