Germany vs Paraguay 2026 World Cup R32 preview, team news, prediction and betting tips: Die Mannschaft to make R016

The Germans progressed to the knockouts as section winners and will enter the match as favourites despite losing their final group game 2-1 to Ecuador. 

Paraguay, meanwhile, qualified as one of the best third-place sides, finishing outside of the top two but still advancing to the knockout stage.

The winner books a place in the round of 16 to potentially face France, the loser books a plane ticket home. 

Germany face Paraguay on Monday in their first World Cup knockout game since they last won the tournament in 2014.

Die Mannschaft were impressive in their opening two matches of the 2026 World Cup against Curacao and Ivory Coast, scoring nine times across both outings. 

Those six points saw them secure a spot in the round of 32 with a game to spare.

However, the 2-1 defeat to Ecuador last time out was still a major disappointment, with Julian Nagelsmann's side therefore set to enter this match off the back of a defeat.

Germany were not regarded as pre-tournament favourites, and they are still regarded as outsiders at this stage, especially as France could be waiting in the last-16.

Be that as it may, they now come up against a Paraguay team that started the tournament with a woeful 4-1 loss to co-hosts the USA.

A hard-fought 1-0 win over Turkey and a goalless draw with Australia eventually secured their passage through as the seventh of the eight best third-place finishers.

The White and Reds picked up four points from their three Group D matches to finish third, only behind second-placed Australia on goal difference.

This is Paraguay’s first World Cup appearance since 2010, when they were knocked out by eventual winners Spain in the quarter-finals in South Africa.

The teams have met once before at the World Cup, with Germany edging a 1-0 victory in the Round of 16 at Korea/Japan 2002. 

Oliver Neuville was the match-winner for the European giants, who went on to finish runners-up at the tournament.

However, the last meeting between these two nations did finish level, a 3-3 friendly draw in August 2013.

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Caution has been Paraguay’s game plan since they faced the USA and they executed it almost perfectly in their 1-0 win over Türkiye and 0-0 draw against Australia.

If we discount both teams’ opening games, there’s a good chance this matchup will be low-scoring. 

Germany have struggled against more cautious opponents during this World Cup, with both their games against Côte d’Ivoire and Ecuador finishing 2-1.

We may see even fewer goals than that, but to avoid making our Bet Builder unnecessarily risky, we’ll stick with under 3.5 goals.

Germany may have been inconsistent with their results during the World Cup group stages, but one thing they kept doing throughout was conceding goals. 

Julian Nagelmann’s side conceded at least once in all three of their games, including a historic first-ever World Cup goal for Curacao in their opener.

This will be encouraging for Paraguay, who found their feet after suffering a 4-1 defeat to the USA in their opening game. 

Gustavo Alfaro’s side kept two clean sheets following that game, but they come up against the tournament’s top scorers in this one, so it’s difficult to see them keeping another one. 

So we’re going with both teams to score here.

Despite Deniz Undav registering three goals and two assists in just 69 minutes for Germany at this World Cup, Julian Nagelsmann still seems strongly resistant to playing the Stuttgart striker from the start and will likely stick with Arsenal man Kai Havertz to lead his line.

Havertz started all three of Germany’s group stage games, bagging a brace in the opening thrashing of Curacao. 

He has blanked in both games since then, but as he comes up against Paraguay on Monday, he will have a good chance to get back to scoring ways.

Despite conceding four in their opening game against the USA, Paraguay have since kept two clean sheets. 

However, the German attack should prove too much for them as we’re backing the man who has scored in two Champions League finals to breach their defence.

Germany will be missing Nico Schlotterbeck, with the centre-back picking up a serious ankle injury against Ivory Coast, so Antonio Rudiger will again feature in the middle of the back four alongside Jonathan Tah.

Nathaniel Brown was not involved against Ecuador last time out due to a muscular problem, but the left-back is expected to be cleared to feature from the first whistle here.

There should not be any surprises in the Germany XI for this match, with Kai Havertz, Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala set to continue as the front three.

As for Paraguay, Diego Gomez will miss the match through suspension, having picked up a second yellow card of the tournament against Australia last time out.

Miguel Almiron will be back in the team, having served a suspension, while Omar Alderete (knee) and Ramon Sosa (muscle) both need to be assessed.

Gabriel Avalos has only scored twice in 25 appearances for his country, but the 34-year-old is still expected to start.

Neuer; Kimmich, Rüdiger, Tah, Brown; Nmecha, Pavlovic; Sane, Musiala, Wirtz; Havertz

Gill; Cáceres, Alderete, Velázquez, Alonso; Almiron, Galarza, Cubas, Mauricio; Avalos, Enciso

Germany will not take Paraguay’s threat lightly, even if Alfaro’s men have been rather uninspiring so far. 

Still, Paraguay are capable of making this an uncomfortable match for Germany, and we are expecting it to be close in terms of the scoreline.

However, the 2014 winners should be able to navigate their way into the last-16 stage of the tournament.

It is still likely to be a tight affair, but Germany should just shade it.

Correct score prediction: Germany 2-1 Paraguay