World Cup Story Feed / 世界杯事情流
World Cup Story Feed / 世界杯事情流
From 1982 to 2022, over four decades, four World Cup penalty shootouts. The opponents were France, Mexico, England, and Argentina. Germans stepped up to the penalty spot 18 times and scored 17, with a success rate of 94.4%. Penalties are their ace in the hole, and the hardest evidence of the "German steel will."
From 1982 to 2022, four decades, four World Cup penalty shootouts. Opponents: France, Mexico, England, Argentina. Germans stepped up to the penalty spot eighteen times, scored seventeen—a 94.4% success rate. Penalties were their trump card, the hardest footnote of "German steel will."
That trump card turned into scrap when pulled out against Paraguay.
On June 29, 2026, in the Round of 32 of the World Cup, the penalty shootout ended 3-4. Germany eliminated. It wasn’t a close loss; they were on the back foot from the first round. Havertz, who leveled the match with a header in the 54th minute of regular time, stepped up first and had his penalty saved directly by Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gil. In the fourth round, Woltemade was saved. After five rounds, it was 3-3, leading to sudden death—in the sixth round, Jonathan Tah sent the ball over the bar. Match over.
Gil stands 1.98 meters tall. Standing on his goal line, his shadow could cover half the six-yard box. The loss cannot be blamed entirely on the goalkeeper. Penalties are a psychological battle; the Germans showed their hand from the first round.
The 120 minutes before the penalty shootout were a one-sided half-pitch attacking drill.
75% possession, 21-7 shots, 16-6 corners. The Germans pinned Paraguay in their own half with 799 passes and a 90% pass success rate—while their opponents managed only 257 passes with a 63% success rate. Expected goals: 1.49 to 0.42. On paper, Paraguay should have had no chance.
The score, however, was 1-1. In the 42nd minute, Enciso scored with a diving header from a second-phase corner kick. In the 54th minute, Wirtz crossed from the left, and Havertz met it at the far post, glancing a header that kissed the underside of the crossbar and went in. The remaining sixty-six minutes were nothing but ineffective passing.
High crosses and brute force fell by the wayside. Maintaining possession with sideways and backward passes became modern football's cheapest fig leaf. The stats looked impressive, but there was no scent of blood in the box. Ground-based possession football became the only option. The ball rolled back and forth in the midfield and defensive third, like fingering a prayer bead—pious, but useless. Twenty-one shots and 1.49 expected goals yielded just one goal.
In the 102nd minute of extra time, Jonathan Tah headed the ball into the net. The German bench rushed out. VAR intervened, ruling a foul on the Paraguay goalkeeper during the attack. Goal disallowed.
Nagelsmann said after the match: "Having a goal disallowed is a complete joke."
But he quickly added: "But in the end, you also have to admit it just wasn't good enough."
Several German players wept in the dressing room after the match. Captain Kimmich apologized tearfully and took responsibility. Nagelsmann refused to resign: "I'm not someone who runs away. If the federation needs me, I'm ready. If they don't want me, they have to tell me. I want to continue; in my view, there's no reason to resign."
Players crying until they broke down in the dressing room; the head coach digging in his heels in the interview zone.
Nagelsmann was fully aware of how bad the situation was: "This is already the third consecutive elimination. We are no longer a top team." Three consecutive times—out in the group stage in Russia 2018, out in the group stage in Qatar 2022, and stopped in the Round of 32 in 2026. Before 2018, Germany had participated in eighteen World Cups, reaching at least the Round of 16 and entering the quarterfinals seventeen times. That baseline has been breached three times.
In the history of World Cup knockout stages, Germany has only been eliminated by three non-European teams: Argentina in 1986 (final), Brazil in 2002 (final), and Paraguay in 2026 (Round of 32).
The first two times, they were competing for the championship. The third time, they didn't even get a ticket to the Round of 16.
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