2026 FIFA World Cup: Shock RO32 Exits

The World Cup knockouts have always produced surprising results, shocking exits and witnessed some incredible underdog stories.  The first two days of the Round of 32 have been no different with Germany, Japan and Netherlands already exiting the tournament in heartbreaking fashion. Although Japan lost to five-time champions Brazil, Germany and Netherlands have suffered shocking upsets, getting knocked out in the RO32. 

Here we take a look at the shocking upsets that took place in the RO32 fixtures – 

Germany vs Paraguay (Final score: 1-1, Paraguay won 4-3 on penalties)

Four-time former World Cup champions Germany suffered a shocking defeat to South American minnows Paraguay in their RO32 encounter. The Germans came into this game as the overwhelming favourites. This was Germany’s first loss in a shootout since the Panenka one in 1976. 

Paraguay who had barely made qualification showed resilience and defensive discipline to upset the European giants. The first half performance was a dogged display from the Paraguayans who had about 21% possession in comparison to Germany’s 79% and didn’t just defend Germany’s attacking chances but also went ahead 1-0, leaving the Germans shell shocked. Julio Enciso headed home to give his side a vital lead against the run of play. 

Germany did find an equaliser in the second half with Florian Wirtz setting up Kai Havertz whose powerful header restored parity and gave the Germans a lifeline. The scoreline after regulation time plus stoppages was still 1-1. As extra-time arrived, so did a bit of excitement and drama. Defender Jonathan Tah scored from a near post header in the 103rd minute but to Germany’s dismay the goal was ruled out for a controversial foul on Paraguayan keeper Orlando Gill. Thereafter the match went into a penalty shootout where Paraguay edged Germany 4-3 to mark one of their biggest results in a World Cup. Experienced forward players like Kai Havertz and Nick Woltemade missed penalties for Germany in a dismal shootout performance. 

Germany hasn’t reached the RO16 since they won the title in 2014. From a Paraguay point-of-view, this is an exceptional result, one which they will enjoy before preparing for their RO16 encounter. 

Netherlands vs Morocco (Final score: 1-1, Morocco won 3-2 on penalties) 

The Dutch came into this World Cup after a successful previous edition where they reached the quarter-finals, losing to eventual winners Argentina on penalties. Although they had a tough Round of 32 encounter against a top Morocco side, they were still expected to win this match. 

To everyone’s surprise, Ronald Koeman set up a pretty defensive lineup with a back-five formation. Netherlands dominated the early exchanges but it was Morocco that went close inside 20 minutes with Neil El Aynaoui’s header from Achraf Hakimi’s corner forcing a reaction save from Bart Verbruggen. 

In the second half, Dutch coach Ronald Koeman made substitutions to impact the game. In the 72nd minute, Netherlands finally broke the deadlock with Crysensio Summerville sending Cody Gakpo through on the counter as the Liverpool winger scored past an advancing Yassin Bounou. Just when it seemed Netherlands had done enough to secure a win, Morocco’s Issa Diop equalised in stoppage-time from Chemsdine Talbi’s cross. 

Verbruggen also produced an incredible point-blank save to deny Soufiane Rahimi as the clock ticked down. Extra-time ended without either team finding a winner and following a dreadful penalty shootout from both teams, Morocco just edged out Netherlands 3-2 with Ismael Saibari scoring the decisive penalty to send the Atlas Lions through to the next round. 

Netherlands has now exited three successive World Cup editions on penalty shootouts, a facet of the game that keeps haunting them . As for their opponents, last editions’ semi-finalists have reached the RO16 and will now face a relatively easier opponent in co-hosts Canada so a pathway to the quarter-finals is a distinct possibility. 

Conclusion 

This is the beauty of the extended format as we will see more such knockout fixtures where the Goliath might fall against David. International football has witnessed a peculiar transformation over the past few editions with African teams like Morocco, and Senegal showing massive improvements over time and former heavyweight nations like Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Brazil struggling to perform at the World’s biggest stage. Tight, edgy encounters will be the order of the day as teams progress through the knockouts. Even though it’s too early in the tournament to say this, maybe, just maybe, we might see a new World Cup champion crowned this time.