Image exposes ugly moment German players froze with fear
The post-mortems are underway in Germany after the proud football nation was stunned by Paraguay at the World Cup.
It took a disallowed goal in the 102nd minute and three missed or saved penalties for the Paraguayans to achieve a famous victory.
The German captain approaches teammates about taking a penalty. BBC
The Germans had never lost a penalty shootout at a World Cup, with a 4-0 record, scoring 17 out of their 18 penalty attempts.
So it’s no surprise the finger pointing has begun in the European nation, as it was revealed some players declined or hesitated to take a shot during the sudden death shootout.
According to German news outlet BILD, four different German players — Leon Goretzka, Waldemar Anton, Nathaniel Brown and Malick Thiaw — were called upon by captain Joshua Kimmich to take the sixth penalty in the shootout, following Paraguay’s back-to-back misses but were unenthusiastic.
The report states that Goretzka showed hesitation twice when called upon, while the others similarly seemed unprepared for the moment.
This led to Jonathan Tah stepping up and taking his first ever international penalty. He came forward and missed, skying the ball over the net.
The Germans wouldn’t get another kick as Paraguay converted the next spot kick to send them home.
The Germans ultimately blew three penalties. Tah went from hero to zero after his header to give Germany a 2-1 lead in extra time was overturned by VAR.
The officials deemed there was a foul on the Paraguayan goalkeeper before the header in the 102nd minute, leaving the match level at 1-1.
It was a controversial overturning, with former American goalkeeper Brad Friedel calling the decision “soft”.
“There was no reason for the goalkeeper to fall to the ground. That was a soft call, but he got away with it,” the American expert commentator said on the SBS call.
Germany found themselves in that desperate situation after conceding the first goal of the game to Julio Enciso in the 42nd minute.
They managed to find an equaliser through Havertz just after half-time, but the winning goal eluded them as Paraguay held on grimly in the sweltering Boston heat.
Paraguay advances to play France in the next round, while the Germans head home wondering what just happened.
BBC football commentator Ian Dennis was stunned by the result.
“Germany for the first time ever at the World Cup have lost a shootout and Paraguay pulled off a major, major upset,” he told BBC Live.
Scottish former football star Pat Nevin added: “People in front of us are in tears. They cannot believe it. This must be one of the greatest results in Paraguayan football history.”
The result underlined the quality of the Socceroos′ defensive efforts to secure the 0-0 draw with Paraguay they needed to finish second in the group. USA finished top of the group, with Paraguay scraping through as one of the top eight third place finishers.
