Shocking Results in the Round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup: Paraguay Knocks Out Germany
The 2026 World Cup has kicked off with the playoff stage, and the very first matches of the Round of 16 have already delivered major upsets, dramatic finishes, and the elimination of one of the top favorites. Paraguay knocked out Germany in a penalty shootout, while Morocco and Canada secured historic advancements.
After the group stage of the 2026 World Cup concluded, 32 national teams continued their quest for the title, kicking off the knockout round with incredibly intense and unpredictable soccer, where every mistake proved decisive.
One of the first major stories was the South Africa–Canada match, in which the tournament hosts dominated in shots on goal for much of the game but were unable to break through their opponent’s defense in regulation time, but in stoppage time, Eustaquio secured a narrow 1–0 victory for the Canadians. The “Maple Leafs” advanced to the World Cup Round of 16 for the first time in their history, achieving one of the most significant results in the history of Canadian soccer.
Brazil – Japan 2–1
In this match, the Japanese opened the scoring and held off the favorites for a long time, but in the second half, the Brazilians picked up the pace, equalized the score, and snatched the victory in stoppage time, avoiding extra time and a nerve-wracking penalty shootout.
Germany – Paraguay 1:1 (pen. 3:4)
The biggest upset of this round. Germany failed to hold onto their lead in regulation, and in the penalty shootout, the favorites faltered, allowing Paraguay to advance and knock out one of the top contenders for the title.
Netherlands – Morocco 1:1 (pen. 2:3)
Another dramatic match in which Cody Gakpo’s goal wasn’t enough to secure the win, as Morocco equalized in stoppage time and proved to be the cooler team in the penalty shootout, despite hitting the woodwork several times.
Ivory Coast – Norway 1:2
The match was evenly matched and fiercely contested, but Erling Haaland’s moment of brilliance late in the game proved decisive, propelling Norway into the next round. There are even more high-profile matchups ahead in the tournament, and the playoff bracket already promises new surprises, as the pairings include several clashes between top national teams where a single mistake could cost a spot in the World Cup.
As a reminder, Marta Kostyuk failed to reach the Roland Garros final, losing to Mirry Andreeva in two sets, and after the match she candidly explained what prevented her from playing her best. Despite the loss, the Ukrainian achieved her best-ever result at a Grand Slam tournament and will climb significantly in the WTA rankings.
On Thursday, June 4, Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk, who defeated Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals, will play in the semifinals of the 2026 French Open. Her opponent will be Russian player Mira Andreeva. The match will determine one of the finalists of the prestigious Grand Slam tournament in Paris.
Svitolina also secured a confident victory over an American player and advanced to the round of 16 at Indian Wells.
Sobolenko lost in the quarterfinals of the French Open.
Following inspections in May, the two largest payment terminal networks—EasyPay (LLC “FC ‘Kontraktovy Dom’”) and City24 (LLC “Swift Garant”)—were hit with massive fines: 135 million hryvnias each.
