World Cup Penalty Nightmare: Germany and Netherlands Out, Brazil Snatch 2-1 Win Over Japan
Paraguay 4-3 on pens. Morocco beat the Oranje 3-2. Martinelli at 90+5 saves Brazil after Sano stunned Houston.
June 29 was the night European football got humbled - twice - on penalties. Brazil needed stoppage time to survive Japan.
Three games. Three dramas. Two giants gone.
Brazil 2-1 Japan - Martinelli at 90+5
Japan led at half-time. Brazil looked dead. Then the five-time champions remembered who they are.
| Min | Scorer |
|---|---|
| 29’ | Kaishu Sano |
| 56’ | Casemiro |
| 90+5’ | Gabriel Martinelli |
Sano punished a sloppy Danilo pass, skipped past Casemiro, and fired home from the edge of the box. Japan - dreaming of a first-ever knockout win at a World Cup - went to the break 1-0 up in Houston.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side woke up after the interval. Casemiro missed a sitter on 53’, then headed in Gabriel’s cross three minutes later. Vinícius Júnior nearly won it on 58’ - Zion Suzuki palmed his shot onto the post.
Extra time loomed. Bruno Guimarães slipped in sub Martinelli deep in added time. Low finish. Corner of the net. Brazil through.
Japan’s knockout curse continues - out in the round of 32 again. Brazil play Ivory Coast or Norway on July 5 in East Rutherford.
Germany 1-1 Paraguay (3-4 pens) - Canale ends the dynasty talk
The biggest shock of the tournament so far - and it went to a shootout.
| Min | Scorer |
|---|---|
| ~35’ | Julian Enciso (header) |
| ~54’ | Kai Havertz (header) |
Paraguay - a best third-placed team who held Australia 0-0 - sat deep, fouled smart, and struck on the counter. Miguel Almirón set up Enciso for a bullet header. Germany had 80% possession and nowhere to go.
Havertz equalised with a glancing header. Manuel Neuer (39) and Jonathan Tah thought they had won it in extra time - Tah headed in at the far post. VAR wiped it out for a foul on keeper Orlando Gill.
Penalties. Germany had never lost a World Cup shootout in four tries. Until June 29.
Gill saved twice. Tah missed. José Canale rolled in the winner. Paraguay’s grown men cried in front of their fans in Foxborough - the first third-placed group team to win a knockout game in the 48-team era.
Julian Nagelsmann: “If you are eliminated by Paraguay you are just not a first-class football team.”
Germany out in the round of 32. First time since 2002 they fail at this stage. Klopp murmurs grow louder.
Netherlands 1-1 Morocco (2-3 pens) - Diop late, Saibari wins it
In Monterrey, Morocco and the Netherlands played the best game of the round - then ruined everyone’s nerves from the spot.
| Min | Scorer |
|---|---|
| ~55’ | Cody Gakpo |
| 90+ | Issa Diop |
Gakpo put the Oranje ahead against the run of play in the second half. Morocco had been better before the break - Bart Verbruggen denied Ayoub Bouaddi and Neil El Aynaoui.
Deep in stoppage time, Diop headed in to force extra time. Nobody could separate them. Penalties.
Yassine Bounou saved Crysencio Summerville. Achraf Hakimi hit the post. Ismael Saibari kept his cool - Morocco 3-2 on pens.
Ronald Koeman’s side join Germany on the flight home. Morocco face co-host Canada in Houston on July 4.
What it means
| Winner | How | Gone |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 2-1 | Japan |
| Paraguay | pens 4-3 | Germany |
| Morocco | pens 3-2 | Netherlands |
The bracket just opened wide. France - still the favorite - no longer has to fear Germany on their side. Paraguay get France or Sweden next. Morocco vs Canada is a co-host dream.
And Brazil? Nearly out. Martinelli saved them with five minutes on the clock.
Penalty football. The great equalizer. The great executioner.