Brazil, Paraguay and Morocco all booked their places in the Round of 16 at the FIFA World Cup 26™ on a dramatic second day of action in the knockout stage.
Two ties went to a penalty shootout, with the other decided by a last minute winner, as Paraguay stole the headlines – knocking out four-time champions Germany
Round of 32
Brazil 2 Japan 1
Record five-time FIFA World Cup™ winners Brazil were forced to come from behind against an impressive Japanese side who were looking to win their first ever World Cup knockout tie.
Kaishu Sano gave Hajime Moriyasu’s side a half-time lead, ghosting past a static Brazilian midfield before firing a low shot past the reach of goalkeeper Alisson.
Carlo Ancelotti made a crucial change at the break, bringing on young forward Endrick and adjusting his team’s shape. The tactical tweak paid off just over ten minutes into the second period, when Casemiro rose at the far post to head home a Gabriel cross.
Japan struggled to match their first-half attacking energy and paid a cruel price in the final minute of stoppage-time. Ao Tanaka gave possession away on the edge of the box, with Bruno Guimarães feeding Gabriel Martinelli, who finished past Zion Suzuki – despite the goalkeeper getting a touch.
Brazil will now prepare for their Round of 16 match-up against either Ivory Coast or Norway.
Germany 1 Paraguay 1 (Pen: 3-4)
Four-time champions Germany were stunned by Paraguay on penalties, as they exited the FIFA World Cup in meek fashion in Boston.
Despite dominating possession and creating more chances, Germany fell behind in the first-half, when Julio Enciso headed in a cross from Matías Galarza, beating the despairing dive of Manuel Neuer.
Julian Nagelsmann sent his team back out with a renewed purpose for the second period and they levelled matters soon after – Arsenal forward Kai Havertz deftly flicking in a Florian Wirtz cross as Germany grew in confidence.
Jonathan Tah thought he had given the 2014 champions a crucial extra-time lead, only for a VAR check to harshly rule out his header for a soft infringement on the goalkeeper.
It meant penalties would decide the tie, with Havertz missing Germany’s first attempt. Newcastle United’s Nick Woltemade also saw his effort saved, only for Antonio Sanabria and Fabián Balbuena to fail from the spot and send the shootout to sudden death. Tah blasted his effort well over the bar, leaving José Canale with the chance to seal a famous victory for Paraguay, which he duly did.
The South Americans can now look forward to a Round of 16 match against either France or Sweden.
Netherlands 1 Morocco 1 (Pen: 2-3)
Morocco’s dream of emulating their historic 2022 FIFA World Cup™ run lives on, following a dramatic penalty shootout victory over Netherlands.
The match took it’s time to spark into life, with neither side regularly troubling their opponent’s goal until well into the second-half.
Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo looked to have won it in normal time, when he finished from inside the box after a driving run by winger Crysencio Summerville, only to be denied by a stoppage-time header from Issa Diop to force extra-time.
An additional 30 minutes couldn’t separate the two sides, leading to what would become a rather farcical penalty shootout.
Neil El Aynaoui, Justin Kluivert, Quinten Timber, Achraf Hakimi and Sommerville all missed from the spot, with the West Ham winger’s saved effort giving Morocco the chance to seal their place in the Round of 16. Ismael Saibari stepped up and confidently stroked the ball past Bart Verbruggen to finish matters and set up an exciting tie with co-hosts Canada.
RESULTS
Round of 32
Brazil 2 (CASEMIRO 56′, Gabriel MARTINELLI 90+5′) Japan 1 (Kaishu SANO 29′)
Germany 1 (Kai HAVERTZ 54′) Paraguay 1 (Julio ENCISO 42′)
Paraguay win 4-3 on penalties
Netherlands 1 (Cody GAKPO 72′) Morocco 1 (Issa DIOP 90+1′)
Morocco win 3-2 on penalties
WHAT’S NEXT
Round of 32
Ivory Coast v Norway | 5am NZT (Dallas)
France v Sweden | 9am NZT (New Jersey)
Mexico v Ecuador | 1pm NZT (Mexico City)
Photo Credit: FIFA via Getty Images