Flashscore brings you all the best moments from the tournament in our daily World Cup highlights feature. Here's what happened on day 19 after our mini break!
The headlines
The biggest headline of the day came at Boston Stadium on Monday, where Paraguay, who finished third in Group D, ousted Germany on penalties.
After a 1-1 draw, where the South Americans had their backs against the wall for much of the game, they managed to take the game to spot kicks after a resolute defensive display. This is where the drama turned up a notch.
After Kai Havertz and Nick Woltemade had their penalties saved by Orlando Gill, Paraguay had two chances to win the shootout. But, both Antonio Sanabria and Fabian Balbuena, brought on in the 120th minute specifically to take a penalty, both could not finish the job, taking it to sudden death.
Jonathan Tah was up next, and he blazed it over the bar, giving Jose Canale the golden opportunity to win it. He made no mistake, causing one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history, not least because it was Germany's first-ever World Cup penalty shootout defeat.
Paraguay will now face either Sweden or France for a spot in the quarter-finals.
The final game of the day also went to penalties, where Morocco outlasted the Netherlands to win 3-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Cody Gakpo scored an emotional opener, just days after he and his partner announced the death of his unborn son, before Issa Diop headed Morocco level in second-half stoppage time.
It took the game to spot kicks, with Morocco doing most of the running across the 120 minutes, and it was the Africans who prevailed. They did the hit the woodwork twice, whilst the Netherlands hit it once, meaning it went down to sudden death after four penalties.
Bono chose the right way when facing Crysencio Summerville, allowing Ismael Saibari to send his side into the round of 16 as they chase another successful World Cup, three-and-a-half years after they made the semis.
Earlier in the day, a stoppage-time winner saved Brazil's blushes against Japan as the Selecao qualified for the last 16 with a 2-1 win in Houston.
Japan looked like causing a stir early, thanks to a fine strike from Kaishu Sano. They held their own for much of the game, but Casemiro levelled the game in the 56th minute before Gabriel Martinelli broke Japan's hearts late on.
FIFA World Cup 2026
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Goal of the day
The best goal of the day, aesthetically, was the first.
Sano broke the play up in the middle of the field before evading the challenge of Casemiro. He then ran to the edge of the box, shooting past a diving Alisson into the bottom corner.
His goal came from nothing, but gave his side hope they could upset Brazil. Unfortunately, it came to nothing.
Player of the day
Despite their always impressive array of attacking talent, it was one of Brazil's defenders who took the plaudits during their narrow victory over Japan.
Gabriel put in a display worthy of a 9.1 rating using Flashscore's player rating system, much owed to his assist for Casemiro's leveller - a stunning cross to the back post to pick out the midfielder.
He also put in a shift at the back, winning seven of his 10 duels, completing 130 of his 135 passes, and completing all of his tackles successfully.
Photo of the day
We interrupt our usual glance at social media to bring you this image from Annegret Hilse.
Rayan celebrates with the Brazil squad in what is incredibly reminiscent of the iconic photo of Brazilian great, Pele, after winning the 1970 World Cup.
Can the Bournemouth forward repeat the trick 56 years on?
Josh Donaldson is a Global Senior Editor and International Football Specialist for Flashscore. From the UK, now living in Prague, Josh specialises in football and cycling and can be found at an obscure ground watching games or on his bike. You can follow Josh on X and read his articles here.
