Infallible? Not any more. How Germany lost a World Cup penalty shootout for the first time

Paraguay had two match points. Then they had none. When Antonio Sanabria skewed his penalty wide and Manuel Neuer saved from Fabian Balbuena, Paraguay had blown their penalty shootout advantage and looked to have lost all momentum.

Germany were now back to 3-3 and, somehow, still alive. It felt like football heritage had pulled them through. Their spotless record in World Cup penalty shootouts would remain intact. Victory was now inevitable.

Then something very un-German happened. Centre-back Jonathan Tah, who had never taken a penalty for club or country in normal time before, blasted high over the bar. Paraguay centre-back Jose Canale made no mistake with his side’s third chance to win it and sent Neuer the wrong way.

Germany were disconsolate. Not only were they out but their sense of infallibility from 12 yards was gone.

They lost their first World Cup shootout, having beaten France in the 1982 semi-final, Mexico in the 1986 quarter-final, England in the 1990 final and Argentina in the 2006 quarter-final.

Kai Havertz, who was followed by Nick Woltemade and Bayern Munich defender Tah, is the first German player to miss in a World Cup penalty shootout since Uli Stielike in 1982 against France. It ends a run of 15 consecutive penalties scored in World Cup shootouts.

The hero, Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill, dedicated the win to his nephew, who is ill in hospital. “I promised him that if we got this victory, it would be for him,” he said.

The 26-year old San Lorenzo stopper only made his debut in September’s qualifiers and has had to overcome criticism. Legendary goalkeeper Jose Luis Chilavert was part of that after the 4-1 loss to the United States, but Paraguay manager Gustavo Alfaro was vindicated for sticking by him.

“For Orlando I am happy becaus he went through difficult moments after the 4-1 and all the doubts,” said Alfaro.

“I really trust him. He is a goalkeeper who one game after another becomes more solid. He has won the right, which is when we come to the World Cup, to have players who can play top level.”

Here, The Athletic breaks down the details of how Paraguay beat the Germans at their own game.

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Having won the coin toss, Germany captain Joshua Kimmich elected to go first and also got to shoot towards his own fans. A huge cheer went up from the block of white shirts. It felt like they were already ahead, at least spiritually.

Germany manager Julian Naglesman had walked onto the pitch at full time, notepad in hand, and appeared to handpick his takers as they made their way over to the bench. His mind had clearly gone to penalties before extra time was up.

Havertz misses: Germany 0-0 Paraguay

The Arsenal striker had a record of 23 goals from 24 penalty attempts. He seemed the perfect candidate to give his team a strong start but the Moroccan referee Jalal Jayed made him wait an incredibly long time before blowing his whistle. More than 30 seconds elapsed from the time the forward placed the ball.

It is a long period to be in your own thoughts. Particularly when goalkeeper Gill was still clapping his gloves together, swinging his arms all the way behind his back for maximum volume.

Perhaps that explains why, at the end of his usual stutter run-up, Havertz took a momentary glance towards his right before putting his head back down to face the ball.

Whether it was an attempt at a double bluff or anxiety spilling the beans, it was enough for Gill to dive high to his left and palm the ball away with his right arm above his head.

Havertz had clearly banked on lifting it high into the corner but his placement was way off, only a couple of yards to Gill’s left, and the shot lacked power.

Mauricio scores: Germany 0-1 Paraguay

The Palmeiras midfielder is arguably the most technical player in the team, which is why manager Alfaro spent Sunday fielding questions as to what he had to do to earn a start.

Whipping his right-footed penalty into the side netting may have gone some way to pushing his claims. He took a brave walk up to the ball rather than a run, staring at Neuer the entire way before looking at the ball in his final couple of steps.

Neuer guessed the right way but, unlike Havertz, he closed his foot on the ball with such velocity that there was not enough reaction time for the German to get a hand to it.

Kimmich scores: Germany 1-1 Paraguay

This time Gill opted for starfish claps. Kimmich, however, was unfazed. He took a long, fast run-up but slammed the brakes on to look up before planting his standing leg.

The pause threw Gill off. He moved early to his left and Kimmich was able to sweep it to the other side.

Gomez scores: Germany 1-2 Paraguay

This looked like a penalty destined for Row Z. Gustavo Gomez, the captain, had been incredible, throwing his body at every German shot all night. The centre-back approached the ball like he was unfamiliar with disguise. Neuer even put his right arm up to suggest where he was going.

But from a straight approach angle, Gomez arced his run from the left, like a tennis player running around the ball to get onto their forehand. Still moving at full pace, seemingly dead set on smashing it as hard as he could, Gomez opted for finesse. He  relaxed in the final step and passed it to the right side of the goal.

It fooled the stadium and it fooled Neuer, who leaped high to his right like a salmon in anticipation of a ferocious strike.

Musiala scores: Germany 2-2 Paraguay

Perhaps the best penalty of the lot. Like Gomez, he moved to his left before making his way to the ball. Gill frantically shuffled his feet from side to side and performed a couple of rapid glove claps when Jamal Musiala was only a step away.

It was a slow approach but Musiala then quickly accelerated onto the ball and whipped it into the bottom right corner. Gill showed great agility in throwing himself down low, only inches off the ground, but even at full extension he could not quite get his fingertips to the ball.

Galarza scores: Germany 2-3 Paraguay

The man whose pinpoint cross found Julio Enciso for Paraguay’s goal found another dose of composure to send Neuer the wrong way.

The art of this penalty was in how he used his body weight to fool Neuer. The German goalkeeper stands as tall as he can at penalties, even bouncing on his toes, but it can leave him vulnerable to shifting his body weight even slightly.

Matias Galarza, a left footer, took quite a straight run up and, as he wound his right arm back, he shifted his body weight towards the right as if he was leaning in to curl the ball into the right side.

 But as Neuer took a step forward to dive to his left, Galarza casually opened his body back up to the other side and passed the ball into the net. It was one of those penalties which, if saved, would have looked indescribably bad. But the composure came from the fact he had already sold Neuer a dummy.

Woltemade misses: Germany 2-3 Paraguay

It is a technique that Stuttgart and Newcastle United fans are familiar with. The creeping baby steps of the 6ft 6in (198cm) striker made their way to the ball but this time Gill was hunched over, shuffling just his right leg side to side.

Woltemade took eight steps up to the ball with his final two normal strides. That is when he looked back down at the ball but Gill remained patient and did not give any indication of which side he was leaning towards.

The German’s standing leg was planted very close to the ball and it gave him no room to reverse it into the left corner, even if he had spotted Gill making a move in his peripheral vision.

Woltemade’s record of 16 goals from 18 attempts suggested confidence but Gill’s diving technique was explosive. Keeping his right foot on the line, he launched himself forward to cut off the angle and easily got a hand to the ball.

Sanabria misses: Germany 2-3 Paraguay

Score and Paraguay win. This was meant to be the moment but the Cremonense forward fluffed his lines.

Sanabria’s run-up was a little telegraphed as he shut off the right side of the goal with his angle. He closed his foot on the ball to generate whip, so it was clear he was not intending to play it safe.

But Neuer guessed right and it appeared this spooked the striker, causing him to try to be too precise. In the end, he dragged it a yard wide.

Germany’s players leaped forward from the halfway line with a renewed belief that they could escape.

Amiri scores: Germany 3-3 Paraguay

The Mainz midfielder held his nerve. Nagelsman presumably brought Nadiem Amiri on during extra time with penalties in mind, considering he is the designated taker at club level.

Another in-to-out run up from the left with fast feet thrown in midway, he managed to silence Gill’s mind games. The goalkeeper was bobbing both arms up and down like he was at an exercise class, clapping his gloves together every time Amiri took a step closer.

He opened up his body smoothly at the last moment and stroked the penalty into the bottom right corner.

Balbuena misses: Germany 3-3 Paraguay

Gill, off to the right, was on his knees watching on.

This was not a bad penalty but perhaps a case of the bluff being too obvious. Balbuena ran towards the ball at pace but gradually closed his body to the left a little and made a subtle glance to that side.

Neuer bounced on his toes and spread his arms once as he got close to striking. He gambled on Balbuena opening up his body and that is exactly what happened.

This was an impressive save, however, as the strike was low to the ground and had a decent amount of pace on it. Using his left foot to power him, the keeper put both hands together as he dived and got a strong contact on the ball.

Balbuena screwed his eyes up as he looked to the sky. Paraguay had passed up two match points. Germany now had the momentum and the body language of both teams on the halfway line was telling. Galarza had been on his knees in anticipation but he was motionless as Germany’s line punched the air.

Tah misses: Germany 3-3 Paraguay

Why Tah, a centre-back, took the sixth penalty will be a question for the inquiry.

The centre-back did look the part. He stood tall, took a deep breath and made his way to the ball at a steady pace. He opened his body up to suggest he was passing it to his right, sending Gill diving the wrong way.

All he had to do was slot it into the empty side but he got it horribly wrong. At impact, he was leaning way too far back. Rather than whipping it with the inside of his foot, he made contact more with his laces and sent the ball sailing over the bar. It was not even close.

Canale scores: Germany 3-4 Paraguay

Talk about backing yourself. Canale was exceptional at centre-back alongside his captain but, at 29, he was new to this level. This was only his fifth cap.

He did not run or stutter. Instead, he almost bounced off the balls of his feet. As he glided towards the ball he was square on with Neuer. He had closed off the left side of the goal for a left-footer. Too obvious once again.

Neuer committed. This time, however, Canale won the mind game. Having opened his body up at the last second, he reversed the ball into the right-hand side of the goal.

Striking it with his instep, he kept the ball just under the bar and sprinted to the corner flag, where he was mobbed by his team-mates.

“Everybody is very sad,” said Nagelsman.

“I don’t put fault on the players who missed the penalties. This happens to big players and it happened today. You have 120 minutes to decide the game in your favour.

“You really shouldn’t miss penalties but the players know that. I am not going to blame them. They are under a lot of pressure. I feel bad for Jonathan Tah but that is the way it goes.”