The Round of 32 at this year's World Cup finished with some surprises and was full of suspense until the last minute: while Morocco rushed past the Netherlands in a showstopping penalty shootout and Brazil advanced after its win against Japan, the surprise victory came from Paraguay after a 4-3 penalty shootout against Germany.
Ismael Saibari scored the decisive goal in a penalty shootout, and Morocco sent the Netherlands to its earliest World Cup exit, eliminating the Dutch 3-2 after a 1-1 draw on Monday night.
With the shootout tied at 2-all after four rounds, Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou made a strong save of Crysencio Summerville's attempt, batting it away with his left hand.
Saibari then sent the winner into the low left corner as goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen went the other direction.
The Netherlands had reached at least the round of 16 in 11 previous World Cups, including a quarterfinal appearance four years ago, when Morocco reached the semifinals. Cody Gakpo scored in the 72nd minute for Netherlands.
Morocco’s Issa Diop tied it in the 91st minute, heading in a long cross from Chemsdine Talbi. Neither team had a strong scoring opportunity in 30 minutes of extra time at Estadio BBVA.
It was the second game of the tournament to conclude with a shootout.
A surprising exit
Paraguay beat Germany on penalties earlier Monday.
José Canale scored on the first sudden-death penalty kick, Orlando Gill made two key saves in the shootout, and Paraguay beat Germany 4-3 on penalties to earn the biggest upset of the 2026 World Cup.
It was a major triumph for the landlocked South American country of 7 million people that's 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 and to be honest, considering everything that was said, everything we went through,” Canale said.
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“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, Asunción, 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.
Paraguay became the first team to defeat Germany in a penalty shootout at the World Cup.
The Germans missed three of six penalty tries, the last by Jonathan Tah, who blasted his attempt high over the crossbar in the first sudden-death round, setting up Canale for the winner.
Paraguay, which entered the match ranked 41st by FIFA, became the deepest betting long shot to win a match in this World Cup.
Germany came in as the 10th-ranked team in the world. The Paraguayans will face the winner of Tuesday’s match between France and Sweden in the Round of 16 on Saturday in Philadelphia.
Heartbreak for Japan as Brazil Races past them
Japan's national team hung in until the very end Monday but was eliminated from the tournament — the third straight time Japan has had the lead in the knockout round and lost.
This year, it was to five-time champion Brazil 2-1 on a late goal in injury time.
After four previous losses in such matches at World Cups, Japan is still searching for its first knockout victory. “We were not able to achieve our goal this time but then we can aim for the next World Cup or maybe even one after that,” Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu said through a translator.
“We should work toward that goal, which is what we’ve been doing.” Four years ago, Japan led early but eventually fell to Croatia on penalty kicks in the round of 16. The Samurai Blue suffered a similar fate in the same round in 2018 when they led Belgium 2-0 in the second half but lost 3-2 on a stoppage time goal.
“I don’t think history would be gentle to us,” Moriyasu said. “But if we are to overcome today maybe we will see a time where history will change.”
Japan has only beaten Brazil once in 15 matches, with two games ending in draws. The lone victory came in a friendly in October. “The gap between us is closing now,” Moriyasu said. “Brazil is a top-tier team and we’re definitely approaching that level.” Then he mentioned the loss in Qatar four years ago before adding: “We have to up our game.”
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