‘This takes Germany into a huge hole’: Jurgen Klinsmann after loss to Paraguay

3 min readJun 30, 2026 06:10 PM IST

Germany players are dejected at the end of the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Germany and Paraguay in Foxborough, Mass., near Boston, Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Favourites Germany were shockingly eliminated from the World Cup after losing to Paraguay on Tuesday, going down in a penalty shoot-out for the first-time ever in their World Cup history. Former German player Jurgen Klinsmann was left stunned by the developments, calling the result embarrassing.

“Obviously it’s a very sad day for all of us in Germany, because we didn’t expect going out in the round of 32. And the way we went out is hugely, hugely disappointing. It seemed like the team was not prepared to take control of matters during the 120 minutes. They were not energetic enough, decisive enough, aggressive enough to win this battle with a very strong Paraguayan team, which we knew it’s going to be a difficult game,” Klinsmann said to ESPN.

“At the very end it looked like they were not prepared for a penalty shootout, which for is for us insane, because we love penalty shootouts, usually. The way we went out tonight is devastating, is an embarrassment, is something that nobody, nobody expected. It’s pretty much as horrible as the exits were in Qatar four years ago, and in Russia eight years ago. So this takes Germany into a huge, huge hole,” he added.

"It's a very sad day for all of us in Germany. … The way we went out I think is hugely, hugely disappointing."

Jürgen Klinsmann reacted to Germany's defeat in the Round of 32 to Paraguay ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/sZIBKXGylW

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The Round of 32 exit vs Paraguay was the latest in a long line of disappointing results at the World Cups. In 2022 at Qatar, in a group which consisted of Spain, Costa Rica and Japan, the Germans finished third and were eliminated. In 2018 at Russia, they finished last in a group that was made up of South Korea, Sweden and Mexico and were knocked out.

On Tuesday, Jose Canale scored on the first sudden death penalty kick, Orlando Gill made two key saves and Paraguay upset Germany 4-3 on penalties after finishing regulation 1-1 to earn the biggest upset of the 2026 World Cup so far to advance to the round of 16 for the first time since 2010.

Paraguay went in front in regulation when Julio Enciso scored on a header late in the first half. Kai Havertz equalized in the 52nd minute for Germany.

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