Germany vs Paraguay
Paraguay aren’t supposed to be in the World Cup 2026 Round of 32, as only a handful of people fancied them to get out of Group D. But to their credit, La Albirroja are here after accumulating four points – level with second-seeded Australia – and it helped them that Turkiye crashed out earlier than expected.
After losing 4-1 to the United States in the opener, Gustavo Alfaro’s men bounced back with a 1-0 win against Turkey and a goalless draw against Australia to finish as one of the best third-seeded countries in the group stage.
As such, they have drawn Germany as their next opponents. Die Mannschaft compiled six points – level with second-seeded Ivory Coast – to finish on top of Group E (with a superior goal difference) after wins against Curacao (7-1) and Ivory Coast (2-1) before dropping their finale against Ecuador (2-1).
Talking Points
Schlotterbeck’s absence will hurt Germany
Germany dropped their group-stage finale against Ecuador after conceding goals from Nilson Angulo and Gonzalo Plata, after taking an early lead through Leroy Sane in the first two minutes. Many believe that Nico Schlotterbeck’s absence played a pivotal role in the defeat.
Schlotterbeck is out for the rest of this year’s finals after sustaining a serious ankle injury during their 2-1 victory against the Ivory Coast. Antonio Rudiger eventually replaced Schlotterbeck to partner with Jonathan Tah, and the two centre-backs didn’t have a great outing against Ecuador.
Left-footed centre-backs are a rarity, so Germany will badly miss Schlotterbeck. The Borussia Dortmund defender was actually the highest-rated Die Mannschaft player (8.9) against Curacao, as he had the joint-most defensive contributions (11) and had the most touches (104). By the way, Schlotterbeck also gave Germany the lead for good in the 38th minute after Livano Comenencia scored the equaliser 17 minutes earlier.
With Tah and Rudiger underperforming against Ecuador, head coach Julian Nagelsmann could tinker with his centre-half pairing against Paraguay. Malick Thiaw, Waldermar Anton, and Nathaniel Brown are candidates to replace either one of them if Nagelsmann plans to do so.
Paraguay dodge the bullet on Almiron
Miguel Almiron was a victim of the controversial “Prestianni Law” when he covered his mouth while speaking to another player during Paraguay’s 1-0 win over Turkiye last Friday. In the first-half added time of the said match, the Atlanta United winger appeared to say something to Turkiye’s Mert Muldur with a hand on his mouth, and was eventually sent off after a VAR review.
Almiron’s red card was the first of its kind, and he didn’t play during La Albirroja’s goalless draw against Australia. However, FIFA opted not to lengthen his ban, so he should be good to go against Germany on Monday.
Paraguay has only found the back of the net twice so far in this year’s finals, and they’ll need more to stay alive in the knockouts. Having Almiron – with 10 goals in 78 caps – certainly helps in that regard.
History
Monday marks only the third competitive encounter between Germany and Paraguay, and they haven’t squared off since their 3-3 barnburner in an international friendly back in August 2013. During the said match, Jose Nunez, Wilson Pittoni, and Miguel Samudio scored for La Albirroja, while Ilkay Gundogan, Thomas Muller, and Lars Bender scored for Die Mannschaft.
Their first meeting was in the Round of 16 of the World Cup 2002 after Germany and Paraguay finished in the Top 2 of Groups E and B. Die Mannschaft won 1-0 at the Jeju World Cup Stadium, with Oliver Neuville scoring the match-winner in the 88th minute. Germany notched two more 1-0 wins over the United States and South Korea before losing 2-0 to Brazil in the final.
Paraguay have never gone beyond the first knockout game in the World Cup, having reached only the Round of 16 in 1986, 1998, and 2002 – something they hope to change this time around.
Betting Tip
The SBOTOP World Cup 2026 odds expect Germany to cruise past Paraguay at Gillette Stadium on Monday night. As of this writing, there have been no bets available in the 1X2 market, but the other alternatives indicate that the football fans in Boston are in for a huge treat.
That is because Germany will likely generate new World Cup 2026 highlights. Besides our recommended bet of rooting for Die Mannschaft, bettors can also add Over 2.75 at 2.03 to the parlay. Germany are expected to make a deep tournament run anyway, so losing this match would be catastrophic to their program.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT)
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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