Paraguay Declares National Holiday after Defeating Germany in the 2026 World Cup 32nd Round

Paraguay beat Germany in the 2026 World Cup 32-team round (Instagram/@albirroja).

JAKARTA - Orlando Gill knows Paraguay is a very underdogs team against Germany in the 2026 World Cup 32-team match. In fact, he himself was a little fascinated.

However, the 26-year-old goalkeeper, who is making his first World Cup appearance, beat German legend Manuel Neuer in a penalty shootout to help La Albirroja knock out the four-time World Cup champions - and give the people of Paraguay a national holiday on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, local time.

"This shows that we shouldn't talk too quickly. This proves that Paraguay is capable of achieving great things. The opportunity will surely come sooner or later," said Gill after helping the team advance to the round of 16.

Gill, who plays for Argentine club San Lorenzo, helped Paraguay reach the knockout stages by keeping a clean sheet in a 1-0 win over Turkey in the group stage and a 0-0 draw against Australia.

However, the 198cm goalkeeper, who also conceded four goals from the United States in the group stage, needs to perform better against Germany, who controlled the ball more than twice as much as Paraguay and fired 21 shots on goal compared to Paraguay's seven.

The proof was successful. Gill could even be said to have beaten his idol, Manuel Neuer - who played in his fifth World Cup, after leading Germany to the 2014 title, finishing third in the Ballon d'Or that year behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, and led Bayern Munich to two Champions League titles and 13 Bundesliga titles.

"It feels like a horror movie. German players are everywhere. Even I myself still can't believe it.

"Neuer is a world-class goalkeeper. I once had a penalty shootout with him. He also managed to save the penalty. I have great respect for idols like him," said Gill.

Gill made one mistake in normal time, conceding Kai Havertz's equalizer in the 54th minute. Another German goal - which could have been the decisive victory - was canceled in the 12th minute of extra time after a video review determined that Waldemar Anton had obstructed Gill to make way for Jonathan Tah who managed to shoot the ball into the net through a header.

When it came time for the penalty shootout, Gill got the trophy as the best player of the match. He gave Paraguay the lead when he stopped Havertz's first attempt in the penalty shootout.

Paraguay managed to score the first three goals to take a 3-2 lead before Gill made another save, this time thwarting Nick Woltemade's attempt.

That means Paraguay only needs to score one of the last two goals to win the match.

However, Antonino Sanabria's kick went wide to the left. Neuer then stopped Fabian Balbuena to bring the penalty shootout to sudden death. Tah kicked the ball past the crossbar before Jose Canale beat Neuer to win the match.

"Now, with a cool head, I will sit down and analyze what we have achieved. We managed to survive until the 120th minute and luck was on our side during the penalty shootout," said Gill.

Later after the match, the President of Paraguay, Santiago Pena, declared Tuesday a national holiday for the country following the historic victory.

"In recognition of the historic victory of the Paraguayan National Team over Germany, a national holiday is officially set for June 30, 2026," the country's leader wrote in a decree.