World Cup Roundup: Paraguay Shocks Germany; Brazil Survives With Late Winner

The first full match day of the knockout stage delivered in a big way. Brazil and Japan played a thrilling game to open the slate, and then chaos ensued. Monday was just the fourth time ever that two shootouts took place on the same day. First, Paraguay pulled off one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history. Then, Morocco equalized in stoppage time against the Netherlands before advancing on penalties. Here’s the best of Match Day 19 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup: BEST OF THE DAY Moments Of The Day Brazil started slowly in the first half against Japan and paid for it, going into halftime down 1-0. In the second half, though, the tides turned. Japan slowed down while the Brazilians continued to gain momentum. A Casemiro header drew the game level in the middle of the second half. Martinelli came on in the 65th minute and ultimately found the winner in stoppage time. Bruno Guimaraes found Martinelli in a great position, and the Arsenal attacker beat Zion Suzuki, who put on a show in goal for Japan throughout the game. Martinelli’s goal (95:00) is the latest winner in normal time of the World Cup knockout stages on record (since 1966). We have a top save for the “Save Of The Day,” but there was a deserving bit of brilliance in Brazil’s win over Japan, so we will instead highlight Gill here. Gill made six saves in the 120 minutes of open play, and then he saved two of the three penalty misses from Germany. He opened the shootout by saving Kai Havertz’s penalty, and then he also blocked Nick Woltemade’s effort three shots later. Goal Of The Day A dazzling stretch from Sano had Japanese fans believing that it would be their day in Houston. First, Sano won the ball off Brazilian defender Danilo. From there, he dribbled about 30 yards past midfielder Casemiro. Once he got within 25 yards of goal, he let loose on a shot that beat goalkeeper Alisson. Japan started the game well and deserved the lead, but it eventually ran out of gas against Brazil in the second half. Assist Of The Day Morocco controlled its round-of-32 matchup against the Netherlands. The Dutch had only six shots, and the last one came in the 72nd minute. That said, Morocco was trailing after a late goal from Cody Gakpo and needed a late moment of brilliance. It got that from Talbi. Talbi picked up the ball on the left wing and swung in a brilliant cross for center back Issa Diop, who was forward with Morocco in need of a goal. Diop used the pace already on the cross and sent it into the back of the net. After an extra-time period that only featured one shot from both teams, Morocco advanced to the round of 16 courtesy of a penalty shootout that saw Talbi make his penalty. Save Of The Day Vinícius Júnior would have scored the goal of the tournament on Monday in Houston if it wasn’t for Suzuki. Vini made a brilliant run down the left wing, dribbling past multiple defenders on multiple occasions before getting his shot off. Suzuki got a crucial touch with his left hand that put the shot onto the post before Japan was able to clear it. Unfortunately for Suzuki, Brazil equalized just minutes later through a header from Casemiro that he had no chance of stopping. Brazil vs. Japan Germany vs. Paraguay Netherlands vs. Morocco