The Round of 32 took place at Boston Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, with Germany in first place in Group E with six points. Nagelsmann’s side declared themselves title contenders by beating Curaçao 7-1 and then Ivory Coast 2-1 to seal qualification. However, the final game of the group was a timely reminder that Ecuador still needed to improve, losing 2-1 despite Germany having secured top spot in the group.
Paraguay had a very different group stage journey. Their campaign looked in danger of being over after losing 4-1 to hosts United States in their opening game, but Alfaro’s men responded with impressive resilience. After playing the entire second half with ten men, the team reignited their campaign with a disciplined 1-0 win over Turkey, followed by a hard-earned 0-0 draw with Australia to take four points and join the tournament’s best third-place team.
Germany will once again rely on one of the most exciting attacking units in the game. Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz continue to provide creativity for Kai Havertz, while Deniz Undav has become one of the stories of the tournament. Despite coming entirely off the bench, the striker scored three goals and entered the knockout stages as Germany’s most effective substitute. Germany’s defense suffered a major setback after Nico Schloterback missed the remainder of the game with a serious ankle injury, leaving Antonio Rudiger in charge of the defence.
Paraguay also welcomes the important boost. Miguel Almiron returns from suspension and is expected to lead the counter-attacking threat alongside Julio Enciso. However, midfielder Diego Gomez is absent after accumulating two yellow cards in the group stage.
This will be the second World Cup clash between the countries. The last time the two met was in the round of 16 of the 2002 World Cup in South Korea. Germany finally broke Paraguay’s resistance through Oliver Neuville in the 88th minute and eventually lost to Brazil and finished second.
The tactical comparison is expected to determine the outcome of this game. Nagelsmann’s Germany favored aggressive pressing, fluid movement and constant possession, while Alfaro built Paraguay around defensive organization, compact positioning and quick transitions. Germany may have the stronger pedigree, but Paraguay have proven throughout the group stages that they are capable of thwarting more opponents when discipline and structure take center stage.
