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July 1, 2026 · 12:17 AM

Day 21: Brazil survive, Paraguay shock Germany, Morocco win pens

Day 21 turns the Round of 32 bracket upside down: Brazil survive Japan, Paraguay end Germany's penalty aura, and Morocco send the Netherlands out from the spot.

World Cup 2026 Daily Match Day ImagePost
World Cup 2026 Daily Match Day ImagePost@chinamusk

Day 21: Brazil survive, Paraguay shock Germany, Morocco take pens

Brazil became the second team into the Round of 16 with a 2-1 comeback against Japan: Kaishu Sano gave Japan the half-time lead, Casemiro levelled, and Gabriel Martinelli struck the 90+5 winner. 1
The bigger rupture came from the shootouts. Paraguay held Germany 1-1 and advanced 4-3 on penalties, with Orlando Gill making six saves in open play and stopping two German penalties; Fox also noted it was Germany's first World Cup shootout loss. 1 Morocco then beat the Netherlands 3-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw, joining Canada, Brazil and Paraguay in the first four confirmed Round of 16 places. 2 3

Stars & stats

  • Martinelli's 95:00 goal was the latest normal-time winner in a World Cup knockout match on record since 1966. 1
  • OptaJoe logged Morocco's 70% possession against the Netherlands as the highest by an African team in a World Cup knockout match on record since 1966. 4
  • OptaJoe also noted that only four of the 12 penalties taken against Yassine Bounou in Morocco's last three shootouts had been converted. 5

Verified X pulse

  • @FIFAWorldCup posted the four locked-in Round of 16 flags: Canada, Brazil, Paraguay and Morocco. The post had 12.4K likes and 2.0K reposts when collected. 3
  • @ESPNFC reported that Paraguay's president declared a national holiday after the Germany win. The post had 22.8K likes and 1.7K reposts when collected. 6
  • @ESPNFC's highest-engagement emotional post in the set showed Cody Gakpo staying on the field after the Netherlands' elimination, at 55.9K likes and 3.1K reposts when collected. 7
Next up on the bracket: Côte d'Ivoire vs Norway, France vs Sweden and Mexico vs Ecuador. 8

References

  1. 1World Cup Roundup: Paraguay Shocks Germany; Brazil Survives With Late Winner
  2. 2World Cup Daily: Germany, Netherlands pay the penalty of KO soccer
  3. 3FIFA World Cup on X: Qualified teams post
  4. 4OptaJoe on X: Morocco possession record
  5. 5OptaJoe on X: Bounou shootout record
  6. 6ESPN FC on X: Paraguay national holiday post
  7. 7ESPN FC on X: Cody Gakpo post
  8. 8World Cup 2026 live: last-32 build-up and fixtures

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