Looking at the shock Round of 32 exits at FIFA World Cup 2026

The FIFA World Cup knockouts have always produced surprising results, shocking exits, and some incredible underdog stories.

This time around, the first two days of the Round of 32 have already delivered some incredible results, with Germany, Japan, and the Netherlands already out of the tournament in heartbreaking fashion. While Japan lost to five-time champions Brazil, Germany and the Netherlands have suffered shocking upsets.

Here, we take a look at the shocking upsets of the Round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Germany 1–1 Paraguay | Paraguay won 4–3 on penalties

Four-time World Cup champions Germany suffered a shocking defeat to relative minnows Paraguay. Die Mannschaft came into this game as the overwhelming favourites for the win, only to go on to register their first loss in a shootout since the Panenka incident in 1976. 

Paraguay, who had just about qualified, showed resilience and defensive discipline to upset the European giants. Their first-half performance was a dogged display; La Albirroja had about 21% possession in comparison, yet they didn’t just defend against Germany’s attacking attempts but even went ahead, leaving the Germans shell-shocked as 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 as Florian Wirtz set up Kai Havertz, whose powerful header restored parity and gave the Germans a lifeline. The scoreline after regulation time remained 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 game went to penalties, where Paraguay edged Germany 4–3 to mark one of their biggest results in World Cup history, with star forwards such as Havertz and Nick Woltemade missing penalties for Germany in a dismal shoot-out performance.

Germany haven’t made it to the last 16 of a men’s World Cup ever since lifting the trophy in 2014. From Paraguay’s point of view, this is an exceptional result, one which they will enjoy before preparing for their round of 16 encounter.

Netherlands 1–1 Morocco | Morocco won 3–2 on penalties

The Dutch came into this World Cup after a reasonably successful previous edition, where they reached the quarter-finals and lost to eventual winners Argentina on penalties. Here, even though they had a tough round of 32 encounter against a top Morocco side, they were still expected to win.

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

In the second half, Koeman made substitutions to impact the game. In the 72nd minute, the Oranje finally broke the deadlock, with Crysencio Summerville sending Cody Gakpo through on the counter as the Liverpool winger scored past an advancing Yassine Bounou. Just when it seemed that the Netherlands had done enough to secure a win, Morocco’s Issa Diop equalised in stoppage time from a Chemsdine Talbi 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 shoot-out from both sides, Morocco managed to just about edge out the Netherlands 3–2, with Ismael Saibari scoring the decisive penalty to send the Atlas Lions through to the next round.

The Dutch have now exited three successive men’s World Cups on penalties, a facet of the game that keeps haunting them. As for their opponents, last edition’s semi-finalists have made it to the last 16 and will now face relatively easier opponents in co-hosts Canada; reaching the quarter-finals is very much a possibility.

This is the beauty of the extended format, and no doubt we will see more such knockout fixtures where the Goliaths fall to the Davids.

International football has witnessed a peculiar transformation over the past few years, with African teams such as Morocco and Senegal showing massive improvements and former heavyweight nations like Germany, Italy, Brazil, and the Netherlands struggling to perform on the world’s biggest stage.

Tight, edgy encounters will remain 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 around.