Preview: Germany vs Paraguay - prediction, team news, lineups

Germany will take on Paraguay in the last-32 stage of the 2026 World Cup on Monday, with the pair battling to reach the final 16 of the tournament.

Paraguay are through as one of the best third-placed finishers at the competition, while Germany finished at the head of Group E to secure a spot in the round of 32.

Match preview

Germany were impressive in their opening two matches of the 2026 World Cup against Curacao and Ivory Coast, scoring nine times in two successes, and 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.

DFB-Team were not mentioned as one of the serious challengers for the trophy pre-tournament, and they are still regarded as outsiders at this stage, especially as France could be waiting in the last-16 stage of the tournament.

Germany are four-time world champions, but they were knocked out in the group stage of both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

Die Mannschaft actually locked horns with Paraguay in the last-16 stage of the 2002 World Cup, recording a 1-0 victory courtesy of a late effort from Oliver Neuville.

This is the sort of information to consider if you are thinking of betting on the World Cup, and we have included it in our World Cup betting guide.

Paraguay, at the time of writing, are one of five third-placed teams to have secured a spot in the round of 32, joining Sweden, Ecuador, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Senegal in finishing outside of the top two but still advancing to the knockout stage.

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.

Gustavo Alfaro's team will enter this match off the back of a goalless draw with Australia, while their one success this summer was a 1-0 victory over Turkey.

Paraguay's best-ever showing at a World Cup came in 2010, when they reached the quarter-finals, but the national side missed out on qualification in 2014, 2018 and 2022.

It is a big ask for the White and Reds to overcome Germany on Monday, but their last game against the European giants did finish level - a 3-3 friendly draw in August 2013.

Germany World Cup form:

WWL

Germany form (all competitions):

WWWWWL

Paraguay World Cup form:

LWD

Paraguay form (all competitions):

WLWLWD

Team News

Germany will be missing Nico Schlotterbeck, with the centre-back picking up a serious ankle injury against Ivory Coast on June 20, 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 are not expected to 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 there is again set to be a spot in the final third of the field for the 34-year-old.

Germany possible starting lineup:

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

Paraguay possible starting lineup:

Gill; Caceres, Alderete, Velazquez, Alonso; Almiron, Galarza, Cubas, Mauricio; Avalos, Enciso

We say: Germany 2-1 Paraguay

Paraguay are capable of making this an uncomfortable match for Germany, and we are expecting it to be close in terms of the scoreline, but the European country should be able to navigate their way into the last-16 stage of the tournament.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.