The German national team, coached by head coach Julian Nagelsmann, lost 3-4 on penalties to underdog Paraguay in the round of 32 in Foxborough near Boston overnight, going out of a World Cup currently being held across the United States, Canada and Mexico. It marked the third World Cup running in which Germany has exited early; in 2018 and 2022, the team had already been eliminated in the group stage.
After the embarrassing exit, Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) offered words of comfort to the team. "Even though the elimination hurts: what a match!" the chancellor wrote overnight on Tuesday on the online platform X. "With your commitment and team spirit at this World Cup, you have thrilled our country. We are proud of you."
Federal Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU) watched the match on a plane, en route to the "opponent" in Asunción, the capital of Paraguay, where he was travelling to attend a summit of Mercosur states. "A shame the summer fairytale didn't work out this year," the Foreign Office wrote on Instagram after the defeat.
Merz's comments also drew mockery. FDP politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann wrote on X in response to his post that she didn't know which was worse, "the match or this analysis." "This national team plays the way this federal government governs: lots of ambition, little resolve."
AfD leader Tino Chrupalla wrote that Merz seemed to apply "the same yardstick to the national team as to his governing coalition." The mockery wasn't limited to Germany: in Russia, the chancellor, as always, was good "at encouraging failure," wrote Kirill Dmitriev, the Kremlin's economic envoy, on X.
The Paraguay defeat was Germany's first-ever World Cup penalty shootout loss, extending a troubling run for the four-time champions: since beating Argentina to win the title in 2014, Germany have failed to win a single knockout match at a World Cup, and have also failed to keep a clean sheet in any of those games.
German media reacted harshly to the latest setback against a Paraguay side ranked 41st in the world. Munich daily Süddeutsche Zeitung called the result "a new humiliation," while football magazine Kicker said it was proof Germany was "drifting further and further away from the world's elite."
Coach Julian Nagelsmann, whose highest point since taking charge was a last-16 exit to Spain at Euro 2024 on home soil, has faced growing calls to step down, with former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp seen by some as a possible successor. 1990 World Cup winner Lothar Matthäus said in his column that Nagelsmann lacked "imagination."
Nagelsmann himself acknowledged that major changes were required but said he had no intention of walking away. Klopp, working as a television pundit during the tournament, argued that Germany's problems run deeper than the coaching staff, saying: "We are Germany? No, we were Germany." He pointed to a shrinking pool of elite talent compared with rivals like France, Spain and England, and called for change starting at grassroots level.
While disappointment ran deep in Germany, Paraguay's World Cup triumph over the Albirroja ("white-and-red," a reference to the team's jersey colours) sparked frenzied celebrations. President Santiago Peña declared Tuesday a public holiday. "Paraguay never gives up. Damn right it's a holiday," the head of state wrote on X.
Ecstatic fans celebrated the win with car convoys across the capital; Paraguay had "done what it does best: defended with heart and soul throughout the match and into extra time," said bank employee Amado Salomón. Hotelier Luis Espínola said that as a fan of the Albirroja, one has to suffer until the very last minute. "That's part of our identity, our way of competing and understanding football. Today, that suffering finally turned into immense joy," he said amid the jubilant supporters on the streets of the capital.
For Paraguay, the victory was only the second knockout win at a World Cup. "We eliminated a four-time world champion, and Paraguay has shown that with organisation, sacrifice, and tremendous team spirit, you can also defeat the biggest footballing powers," Espínola said. "It's a night that will remain forever in the memory of the Paraguayan people."
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