The World Cup exploded to life in the knockout stages, with a trio of games offering up some great watching. But nowhere was more compelling viewing to be found than the Germany-Paraguay game, which saw the South Americans dump Die Mannschaft out of the World Cup on penalties. This was the first ever time that the Germans have been knocked out of a World Cup on penalties.
Germany had 76% possession and 21 shots against Paraguay’s 7. But try and try as they might, the Germans found the Paraguayan blockade hard to break down, as the Paraguayans live out coach Gustavo Alfaro’s instructions to the hilt in what was a defensive masterclass.
At the heart of everything good that the Paraguayan’s did lay their goalkeeper Orlando Gill. The 6-foot 6 stopper, who plays for San Lorenzo, was an imposing figure who was hard to get by. This writer is loathe to quote stats (as many football tacticos do), but the numbers don’t lie; Gill has been under the pump in his last few games, with opponents hoping to rack up 4.72 Expected Goals (xG) across his last three outings. But Gill has stood tall, and allowed only a single goal in those games. Expect a European team to come calling for him sooner rather than later.
After absorbing a lot of pressure, Paraguay was first to get on the score sheet, with Julio Enciso opening the scoring in the 42nd minute. Germany’s equaliser came from Havertz 9 minutes into the second half, as he headed home a Florian Wirtz cross. It was to be the last goal of regulation and extra time, with a Jonathan Tah header chalked out for a foul.
There was more drama still in the penalty shootout that ensued, as Kai Havertz saw his penalty saved by (who else?) Gill, as he guessed correctly and dove smartly to his left. When Gill did likewise and saved Woltemade’s penalty, many thought the Paraguayan’s were home. But Manuel Neuer had other ideas, as the legendary German keeper saw Sanabria shoot off target, and then proceeded to pull off a sharp save of his own against Balbuena to level things up.
Jonathan Tah, entrusted with penalty duties, then proceeded to break German hearts as he skied his penalty, leaving Canale with the chance to seal the win for Paraguay, which he duly did. It was bedlam, as the Paraguayan’s celebrated a famous win. Their next opponents will likely be hot tournament favourites France, and it will be fascinating to see how France’s fluid attacking lineup fares against Paraguay’s dogged defence. But for now, the world applauds Paraguay for pulling off a huge upset in knocking out Germany.
