5 min: Gustavo Gomez requires medical attention following a challenging fall. He is limping slightly but appears to be alright.
2 min: Opportunity for Paraguay! The corner kick finds an unmarked Julio Alonso at the far post. His initial touch is clumsy, likely because he anticipated the ball late, but he manages a scissor-kick that is parried away by Neuer.
1 min: Peep peep! Paraguay begins the match, attacking from left to right, and within 20 seconds, Julio Enciso has a hopeful shot deflected out for a corner.
“Unclear to me whether this is, in reportage terms, after or before the lord mayor’s show; still, who’d you annoy to get landed with this? (Probably don’t answer that.) C’mon… Paraguay, I guess? Jeezo, difficult to shake a leg for this one.” writes James Humphries. “What is better for Germany? Lose today and blame the officials or the pitch /VAR. or prevail today and get marauded by a tank with a Rolls Royce engine aka Mbappe as reward?”
I was pleased for Tim to have the first pick. Mainly because I owe my career to him, but also because it allowed me to watch Richard Osman’s House of Games.
The players emerge onto the sweltering afternoon at Boston Stadium. Thankfully, those humane hydration breaks are in place.
The victor tonight will face either France or Sweden, who clash tomorrow.
Match report: Brazil defeats Japan 2-1.
Once again in this tournament, Brazil experienced lengthy stretches of underwhelming performance. Yet, they managed to escape with a win. It’s perplexing, but Carlo Ancelotti’s strategy that thrived at Real Madrid continues to yield results: remain in the game, and eventually, opponents falter or momentous players shine.
Brazil found themselves trailing 1-0 at half-time and in a precarious position. The possibility of their earliest exit from a World Cup loomed large. Five players in Brazil’s starting eleven were over 30, and the six most defensive players exemplified that age. Japan appeared quicker, more fluid, sharper, and more imaginative. However, the introduction of Endrick and a shift in strategy at half-time transformed the game. Brazil began delivering crosses into the box, causing Japan to falter. Casemiro, who was largely uninvolved in the first half, headed the equalizer, and deep into injury time, Gabriel Martinelli scored the winning goal.
“Anyone who was around in 2002 will remember that year’s Germany-Paraguay as probably the worst match of that tournament,” says Krishnamoorthy V. “I think this one will be better, if only because Germany have more good attackers at their disposal this time. But I’ll be very surprised if Paraguay add much to the match excitement-wise.”
I believe they have a third option in mind.
“I’m extremely disappointed,” reflects Peter Goldstein. “that we’ve had four Germany games without mentioning Die Mannschaft’s finest moment from the last World Cup on US soil. “The tradition of forcing players into awkward backing vocals on cheesy songs really needs to be resurrected.”
In fairness, the winning goal was spectacular, particularly as it spared us from extra time.
“I’m extremely disappointed,” Kiera Healy begins, and for once that phrase feels warranted, “that we’ve had four Germany games without mentioning Die Mannschaft’s finest moment from the last World Cup on US soil.
“The tradition of forcing players into awkward backing vocals on cheesy songs really needs to be revived.”
They seemed much more at ease singing Three Lions after winning Euro 96.
Ian Sargeant writes in:
Greetings from Turkey, Rob. Just relaxing with some post-dinner cocktails. My 25% German son is proudly wearing his Germany shirt, making his much-missed grandmother proud, I’m sure. Paraguay 1986? Alvin Martin’s only start in that campaign. Had he played the following game instead of Terry Fenwick, would Stretch have gotten close enough to Maradona to prevent Diego’s second? Training against Alan Devonshire every day would have been beneficial…
I appreciate the Royal Tenenbaums-inspired description of your son. (Please accept that as intended.)
And no, Stretch wouldn’t have gotten any closer—but he might not have been on a yellow card for reckless violence, which would have given him the option to take Maradona out and prevent the second goal.
A tragic context accompanies today’s match: six individuals lost their lives at a youth welfare facility in Stade, Germany. Beyond the obligatory expressions of sympathy, it’s difficult to articulate much more.
Deniz Undav, who has netted three goals at this World Cup thanks to the Chloe Kelly Paradox, starts up front for the first time. Jamal Musiala is omitted, and Kai Havertz will likely play as a No10.
Miguel Almiron returns to the Paraguay lineup following his suspension, with Gabriel Avalos starting in attack.
Germany (projected 4-2-3-1): Neuer; Kimmich, Tah, Rudiger, Brown; Pavlovic, Nmecha; Sane, Havertz, Wirtz; Undav.
Substitutes: Baumann, Nubel, Anton, Goretzka, Leweling, Musiala, Woltemade, Gross, Beier, Stiller, Amiri, Raum, Thiaw, Ouedraogo.
Paraguay (projected 4-5-1): Gill; Caceres, Gomez, Canale, Alonso; Almiron, Cubas, Bobadilla, Galarza; Avalos.
Substitutes: Fernandez, Olveira, Velazquez, Alderete, Balbuena, Sosa, Sanabria, Mauricio, Romero, Arce, Ojeda, Caballero, Pitta, Maidana.
Referee: Jayal Jayed (Morocco).
The Chloe Kelly Paradox is one of the intriguing aspects of this World Cup. Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli, one of the world’s top substitutes, just secured an injury-time winner for Brazil against Japan.
Paraguay has not scored a goal in five World Cup knockout matches. Statistics can be deceptive, but they can also mask truths; Paraguay has posed challenges to several formidable teams.
The eventual champions, France, required the World Cup’s first Golden Goal to defeat them in 1998; the finalists Germany needed a brilliant late strike from the unheralded Oliver Neuville in 2002.
In 2010, after defeating Japan in a penalty shootout following a 0-0 stalemate, they gave Spain a significant scare. Even back in 1986, despite a heavy loss to England, they had opportunities to take the lead.
Hello and welcome to live, scene-by-scene coverage of 4369 Days Later. That’s how long it has been since Germany’s last World Cup knockout match, a scenario that none of us could have anticipated when Mario Gotze scored the decisive goal against Argentina in the 2014 final.
Paraguay has waited even longer to return to this high-stakes scenario, but as they are not Germany, it’s not quite as significant. They remain somewhat forgotten quarter-finalists from 2010, when they startled the eventual winners, Spain, before losing 1-0. Oscar Cardozo had a penalty saved in the second half when the score was still 0-0.
Germany enters this match as moderate favorites, though their 12-year absence from the knockout rounds indicates that the familiar certainties regarding Germany and the World Cup no longer hold true. The reward for the winners is uncertain: facing either France or Sweden in the last 16.
Kick-off is at 4:30 PM EDT / 9:30 PM BST / 6:30 AM AET.
- World Cup 2026
- World Cup
- Germany
- Paraguay
