7 1 start, 1 2 finish: Germany advances as group leaders, meets Paraguay in the Round of 32.

In the opening round, Germany crushed Curaçao 7-1, with six different players scoring, incidentally pushing Germany to the top of the all-time World Cup goalscoring chart. Opponent Curaçao, a World Cup debutant, has a population just enough to fill two Bernabéus. The Germans played a record-breaking night in Houston, reminding the world of that summer in 2014.

Twelve days later, in the same tournament, Germany lost 1-2 to Ecuador.

Musiala, Wirtz, Havertz, Gnabry, Schlotterbeck, Nmecha—against Curaçao, the six lined up to poke the ball into the net. Havertz scored two himself. But what truly secured Germany's top spot in the group was the final six minutes of the second round match against Ivory Coast.

Undav. Coming off the bench, scoring a brace, a 94th-minute winner. Ivory Coast took the lead first, only to be overturned by a fringe player. Such goals lift the spirit, but think about it: a team aiming for the title, pinning its hopes on a substitute striker's flash of inspiration—that doesn't bear close scrutiny.

Three group stage matches yielded 10 goals, an impressive stat line, but the final round's 1-2 loss laid the issues bare.

The defensive problems are no longer hidden. Against Ecuador, Sane opened the scoring, looking solid. In the second half, Nilson Angulo equalized, and Gonzalo Plata scored the winner. The Germans went from leading to watching the opponent celebrate in less than 45 minutes. Thanks to this victory, Ecuador advanced as one of the best third-placed teams, while Germany suffered their first loss of the tournament.

After the match, a reporter asked Nagelsmann: Does Ecuador want to win more than Germany?

"Nonsense. Didn't these lads give it their all today?"

Nagelsmann defended his players after the match. Normal. But his words sounded less like a refutation and more like encouragement for his own team.

Top spot was already secured; one loss didn't hurt their standing. What truly made Nagelsmann fire off in the post-match press conference was the logistical penalty imposed by the new format.

With 48 teams and 12 groups, group winners have to wait for the cross-ranking of all third-placed teams to know their opponents. Group runners-up had already held meetings with opponent footage, while Germany only figured out who they'd face in the Round of 32 by Sunday morning. With the match set for Monday evening in Foxborough, they had exactly 36 hours. In a knockout tournament, one less day of targeted preparation means set-piece defense and key player marking plans can only be improvised on the spot.

Nagelsmann openly criticized: "I don't think it's reasonable that finishing top of the group should somehow be punished. I don't like this system much."

The opponent is Paraguay. Don't be fooled by the "third-placed team" label. In the second group stage match, they overturned Argentina 2-1—Almirón received a red card in the second half, but the ten men held on until the final whistle. Now his suspension is lifted, and the Newcastle midfielder will play normally in the Round of 32. Brighton's Enciso is also in the squad. Head coach Alfaro brought Paraguay back to the World Cup, not for a sightseeing trip.

Germany and Paraguay have only met once in the World Cup. In 2002, in the Round of 16, Germany won 1-0. Twenty-four years. Those who played then have long since retired, and the spectators have changed generations.

If they get past Paraguay, the Round of 16 match will be on July 4 in Philadelphia, against France or Sweden. France has already secured Group I's top spot, beating Norway 4-1 in a clean performance. Before the match, Nagelsmann made a firm statement: "The German team's goal has always been only one: to win every game."

With only 36 hours until kickoff in Foxborough on Monday evening, the opponent footage in Nagelsmann's hands hasn't even warmed up, while the Paraguayans have already dissected every gap in Germany's defense, frame by frame.