There were tears of disbelief and unbridled joy as the unflappable Jose Canale smashed home Paraguay’s decisive penalty to complete one of the greatest World Cup upsets in recent memory.
It gave the South American side a 4-3 penalty shootout victory over four-time champions Germany after their last-32 tie had finished 1-1 after extra time.
The celebrations were euphoric, with players sprinting towards the match-winning defender before collapsing into a jubilant huddle, marking one of the defining moments in their team’s history.
Paraguay supporters of every generation embraced as tears streamed down their faces, while chants of ‘Vamos!’ echoed around the stadium.
After more than two hours packed with tension and controversy, La Albirroja – 41st in the Fifa world rankings at the start of the tournament, 31 places below Germany – had done the unthinkable.
Relief and ecstasy were etched across every Paraguay supporter’s face.
A dogged and resilient side that averaged only 0.78 goals per game during qualifying, the joint-lowest of any team to reach the finals, had eliminated Germany in their first World Cup knockout match since 2014.
For Germany, the defeat was equally historic. They suffered their first World Cup elimination via a penalty shootout, having won their previous four, and only their second shootout failure at a major tournament after losing the Euro 1976 final.
And for Paraguay? Another national holiday to celebrate their football team was declared within hours of the victory by the country’s president.