Zlatan Ibrahimovic Gets Honest About Germany's Stunning World Cup Exit

On Monday, the World Cup saw its first major upset in the Knockout Stage, as Paraguay defeated the No. 10 team, Germany, 4-3 in a sudden-death penalty shootout.

During the final moments of that shootout, Germany’s kick sailed high over the net, setting up Paraguay’s Jose Canale to connect on the thrilling game-winner. That sent Germany home earlier than anticipated, while Paraguay moves on to the Round of 16.

“This is the game, win or lose. There’s no second chance like you have in the group stage if you don’t score those goals. [Germany] had great opportunities to score. The goalie of Paraguay might have done the game of his life, and when it comes to penalties, 50-50, there is no favorite,” Fox Sports analyst Zlatan Ibrahimovic said, reacting to Germany’s loss.

“This is lottery [with] penalties, are you hero or are you zero? I’m sorry for [Jonathan] Tah; he scored the winning goal for him, but they took it away from him, and then he missed a penalty. From hero, he might get criticized by the media, and that’s when he becomes zero,” Ibrahimovic said. “But this is the game, you need to be strong mentally, and keep going.”

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The goal that Tah thought he scored occurred in the final minutes of extra time. However, VAR disallowed it due to the contact one of Germany’s players made with Paraguay’s goalkeeper, causing him to fall to the ground momentarily.

Germany is also known for being able to win in penalty shootout situations, but had significant misses from Tah, along with teammates Kai Havertz and Nick Woltemade.

The loss was clearly stunning for Germany and its fans. According to CBS Sports, they entered Monday’s match as a large favorite to advance past Paraguay, a team that reached the Round of 32 from Group D. The United States Men’s National Team won the group, which included a win over Paraguay 4-1.

With Monday’s exciting victory, Paraguay will play in the Round of 16 against the winner of Tuesday’s France and Sweden matchup. France is currently the favorite to advance from this match.

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This story was originally published June 29, 2026 at 10:22 PM.