THE last time Germany lost in a shootout of a major event, a player had to come up with a new penalty technique (Antonin Panenka in 1976). The last — and the only — time Mannschaft had missed a spot-kick in a shootout at the World Cup was in 1982. Since Uli Stielike's miss in the semifinals at the 1982 World Cup, they had converted 15 successful spot-kicks. Their record in shoot-outs at the World Cup was 4-0. It's their thing.
Paraguay took a sledgehammer to Germany's thing on Monday night.
****
Whenever a sporting powerhouse loses, there is a tendency to see the loss through that prism. Doubtless the four-time champions, who had a few question marks coming into the tournament, were expected to beat the South Americans. But this victory is as much the story of Paraguay, a country sandwiched between Argentina and Brazil, two of football's biggest aristocrats. In terms of skills, Paraguay don't rank highly but what can never be doubted is their capacity to rise to a challenge. Known to play in a low block, they make it really tough for opponents to play through them. In South American qualifying for this event, they conceded only 10 goals (scored only 14 in 18 games). It speaks of a mentality where the team is the star and the players' industry make the side whose sum is greater than their parts.
This will to succeed is visible in the eyes of Orlando Gill, the Paraguay keeper who became an overnight sensation thanks to his shot-stopping abilities in the shoot-out.
There was a time in Gill's life when he had to sell his kit to fund his new-born son's medical expenses. There was a time in Gill's life when he had to give away the jersey he had worn at the Under-20 Championships to pay the bills. There was even a time in Gill's life when his original ambition — playing centre-forward — had to be nipped in the bud because the coach that day saw his height and sent him in goal.
It has of course worked out well for Gill but that in itself is relative. For years, he was second choice at San Lorenzo in his country. He didn't play a single game between 2020 and 2024 so he packed his bags and left for work in Argentina. It was around this time when he had to fund his son's medical bills. The only thing he retained was his gloves, according to Italian publication La Gazzetta dello Sport.
After making that move to Argentina, things started looking up as the then 25-year-old finally started playing senior football (he had only made two appearances till 2025). After the clean sheets started rolling in at his club side, Paraguay coach Gustavo Alfaro called him up for the first time. Against Peru in Lima, on his senior debut for Paraguay, six years after his age-group debut, Gill kept a clean sheet in a 1-0 win.
Off the field, though, his colleagues and he were gearing up for another battle at his club in Argentina. Non-payment of salary. On the brink of bankruptcy, they even had to write because there was no hot water in the bathroom and canteen facilities were inadequate. That situation continues till today. He has not been paid for months on end.
****
As soon as the South Americans won, the party had begun in Asuncion. The government declared that Tuesday would be a day to celebrate the unthinkable. To commemorate one of their greatest sporting days, Tuesday was going to be a national holiday. On the streets, Paraguay flags flew over buildings and people poured onto the streets.
In Boston, far away from the mayhem, Alfaro said his players and support staff 'lived through an epic evening'. "To resist is etched in our identity. As things always are with us, we don't do things without suffering." To the Paraguayan football team, the idea of suffering is to defend, deny space, force opponents to take risks and then catch them on the break.
It's how they scored the opening goal. It's how they are in the last 16.
