{"id":28755,"date":"2026-06-30T11:46:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T06:16:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/holiday-damn-it-paraguay-president-calls-national-celebration-after-shocking-germany-to-reach-world-cup-last-16-football-news\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T11:46:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T06:16:26","slug":"holiday-damn-it-paraguay-president-calls-national-celebration-after-shocking-germany-to-reach-world-cup-last-16-football-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/holiday-damn-it-paraguay-president-calls-national-celebration-after-shocking-germany-to-reach-world-cup-last-16-football-news\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Holiday, damn it!\u2019 \u2014 Paraguay president calls national celebration after shocking Germany to reach World Cup last 16 | Football News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-132085477,imgsize-146472,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/paraguay-president-santiago-pea.jpg\" alt=\"\u2018Holiday, damn it!\u2019 \u2014 Paraguay president calls national celebration after shocking Germany to reach World Cup last 16\" title=\"Paraguay President Santiago Pe\u00f1a declared a national holiday. (AP Photos)\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ta7d_ img_cptn\"><span title=\"Paraguay President Santiago Pe\u00f1a declared a national holiday. (AP Photos)\">Paraguay President Santiago Pe\u00f1a declared a national holiday. (AP Photos)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Paraguay President Santiago Pe\u00f1a declared a national holiday after the country\u2019s football team produced one of the most stunning results of the <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/topic\/fifa-world-cup\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\">FIFA World Cup<\/a> 2026, eliminating four-time champions Germany to book a place in the Round of 16.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"4\"\/>In a night already etched into Paraguayan sporting folklore, the South American side held their nerve to win 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in their Round of 32 clash. The result marked Germany\u2019s earliest-ever World Cup exit via a penalty shootout, adding further weight to a dramatic contest defined by tension, controversy and high-stakes drama.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"7\"\/>Pe\u00f1a reacted instantly on social media platform X, capturing the euphoria sweeping the nation.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"11\"\/>\u201cPARAGUAY NEVER GIVES UP! HOLIDAY DAMMIT!!\u201d he posted in Spanish: \u201c\u00a1PARAGUAY NUNCA SE RINDE! \u00a1\u00a1FERIADO CARAJO!!\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"13\"\/><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"15\"\/>The announcement of a national holiday followed soon after, underlining the magnitude of Paraguay\u2019s achievement against one of world football\u2019s traditional powerhouses.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"17\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>VAR controversy and penalty drama shape historic upset<br \/><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"19\"\/>The match itself was filled with twists that swung momentum repeatedly. Germany believed they had sealed victory in extra time when Jonathan Tah headed home from a corner in the 101st minute. However, celebrations were cut short after a VAR review overturned the goal for a foul in the build-up, a decision that proved decisive in sending the match to penalties.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"23\"\/>Paraguay capitalised on the opportunity, holding their composure in a shootout where Germany missed three spot-kicks. The decisive moment came as Paraguay converted their final attempt to seal a 4-3 win and spark wild celebrations on and off the pitch.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"26\"\/>The victory also drew reactions from across the continent. Chile President Jos\u00e9 Antonio Kast congratulated Paraguay on social media, highlighting the significance of another South American nation advancing to the knockout stages.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"28\"\/>\u201cWe arrived in Asunci\u00f3n and took the chance to watch the emotional penalty shootout between Germany and Paraguay. A great victory that puts another Latin American team in the round of 16 at the World Cup. <!-- -->Congratulations, Paraguay!\u201d he wrote.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"32\"\/><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"34\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2 style=\"margin: 0px 0px 0.7em; line-height: 1.3; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 24px; background: 0px 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;\">One of the tournament\u2019s biggest shocks<br \/><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"36\"\/>Paraguay\u2019s triumph ranks among the most remarkable upsets in modern World Cup history. Entering the match ranked 41st in the FIFA standings compared to Germany\u2019s 10th, the 31-place gap adds statistical weight to an already dramatic result.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"38\"\/>Since 1994, only a handful of knockout defeats have featured a larger ranking disparity, placing Paraguay\u2019s achievement alongside some of football\u2019s most famous shocks.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"40\"\/><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"42\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/sports\/football\/fifa-world-cup\/holiday-damn-it-paraguay-president-calls-national-celebration-after-shocking-germany-to-reach-world-cup-last-16\/articleshow\/132085081.cms\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Paraguay President Santiago Pe\u00f1a declared a national holiday. (AP Photos) Paraguay President Santiago Pe\u00f1a declared a national holiday after the country\u2019s football team produced one of the most stunning results of the FIFA World Cup 2026, eliminating four-time champions Germany to book a place in the Round of 16.In a night already etched into Paraguayan [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[263],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28755"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28755\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}