GERMANS SHOOT OUT

Jose Canale wasn't in the starting lineup in either of his previous two appearances for Paraguay in this World Cup.

He made his first start a memorable one.

Canale scored the first of his side's spotkicks, Orlando Gill made two key saves in the shootout, and Paraguay beat Germany 4-3 on penalties Monday in Foxborough, Massachusetts, to complete another big upset at the 2026 World Cup.

It was a major triumph for the landlocked South American country of seven million people, which is surrounded by soccer giants like Argentina and Brazil. And it was the latest surprising exit by Germany, a four-time champion that has struggled at the World Cup since it last lifted the trophy in 2014.

"I think we deserved one more game, to be honest, considering everything that was said, everything we went through," Canale said."What I want to highlight from our team is how united we are. Today was a game we really needed to show our true colors."

Paraguayans celebrated in the streets of the capital, Asuncion, screaming, jumping and hugging when the match ended. Some cried and dropped to their knees in disbelief, with the familiar beat of the team's song Soy Albirrojo reverberating through the crowd.

As well as notching up its first-ever knockout stage goal, Paraguay made history by becoming the first team to defeat Germany in a penalty shootout at the World Cup.

The Germans missed three of its six spotkicks, the last by Jonathan Tah, who blasted his attempt high over the crossbar, setting up Canale for the winner. Tah's miss followed a save by German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer of Fabian Balbuena's attempt that would have won it for Paraguay.

Tah also thought he had the go-ahead goal in extra time. He headed in a corner kick by Nathaniel Brown in the 102nd minute, but officials concluded after a video review that Waldemar Anton has pushed Gill to the ground before the shot, and the goal was disallowed.

The round-of-32 match ended 1-1 after extra time. Paraguay took the lead when Julio Enciso scored on a header late in the first half, but Kai Havertz equalized in the 52nd minute for Germany.

"We had to analyze every player, every detail. Thanks to that, I was able to only miss two penalties," Gill said. "This is for all the people of Paraguay."

Paraguay, which entered the match ranked 41st by FIFA, was a huge long shot to beat Germany, the 10th-ranked team in the world.

Paraguay will now face the winner of Tuesday's match between France and Sweden in the round of 16 on Saturday in Philadelphia. Should it overturn the odds amid the United States' 250th anniversary celebrations, Paraguay would return to Foxborough for the quarterfinals on July 9.

Germany had won six of seven penalty shootouts in major tournaments, including six straight since losing to the former Czechoslovakia in the 1976 European Championship final.

"It's not enough for German football," coach Julian Nagelsmann said.

In the only previous World Cup match between the two teams, Germany beat Paraguay 1-0 in the round of 16 at the 2002 tournament. Nearly a quarter-century later, Paraguay got its revenge.

Paraguay had appeared in five previous knockout games, but failed to score in each. It had advanced only once, winning on penalty kicks against Japan in the round of 16 at the 2010 tournament in South Africa. It fell that year to eventual champion Spain in the quarterfinals.

Monday was Germany's first knockout game since the 2014 final in Brazil, when the Germans beat Argentina 1-0. The Germans were eliminated in the group stage at the last two tournaments.

"We had very big plans for this World Cup. It's very difficult to have disappointed again," Havertz said. "It was difficult to create chances and keep the pace."

Paraguay broke the early stalemate Monday in the 42nd minute, with some perfect ball movement to set up Enciso.

Miguel Almiron split Germany's Aleksandar Pavlovic and Brown with a left-footed pass to Matias Galarza. Galarza sent a cross to Enciso, who was unmarked by Germany's defenders and easily headed it past Neuer.

In the second half, Havertz took a cross from Florian Wirtz, which he got just enough head on to redirect it past Gill.

Germany, whose 10 goals in the group stage was tied for the most of any team, struggled to find a way through Paraguay's 4-5-1 setup. The Germans had 78 percent of the possession in the first half.

Paraguay was without defender Omar Alderete, who left with an injury in the second half of its 0-0 draw against Australia. Canale started in his place.

AP