The 2026 World Cup of surprises: Paraguay sink Germany, Morocco knock out the Netherlands and Norway beat Brazil
The first 48-team World Cup had its share of earthquakes. In the round of 32, two European giants went home on penalties: Germany fell to Paraguay (1-1, 3-4) and the Netherlands to Morocco (1-1, 2-3). Egypt enjoyed a historic tournament, and Norway, with an unstoppable Haaland, knocked out Brazil to reach the quarters. We review the championship's biggest shocks.
Every World Cup has its surprises, but the 2026 edition —the first with 48 teams— dealt out shocks from the very first knockout round. The round of 32 swept aside two European heavyweights, both in the cruellest way: on penalties.
The biggest bombshell came from Paraguay, who knocked out Germany. After a 1-1 draw over 120 minutes, the Albirroja won the shootout 4-3 and sent one of the big favourites home. Almost simultaneously, Morocco pulled off the same feat against the Netherlands: another 1-1 and another shootout won (3-2) to dump out the Oranje. Two of the most feared sides in Europe, gone before the last 16.
There was more drama from the spot: Egypt saw off Australia in a shootout (2-4) and enjoyed a World Cup for the ages, reaching the round of 16, where only a champion Argentina could edge the Pharaohs by a razor-thin 3-2. The African side left with their heads held high.
The great footballing revelation, though, was Norway. Led by an Erling Haaland in irresistible form —he finished the tournament on seven goals, among the top scorers— the Scandinavians knocked out none other than Brazil in the last 16 (2-1) and reached the quarter-finals, where they went down with honour to England (2-1). A dream tournament for a nation that had gone decades without shining at the top level.
A special mention for Morocco, who confirmed that their Qatar 2022 run was no fluke: after eliminating the Netherlands, they thrashed Canada (3-0) and again reached the quarters, where France (2-0) ended their dream. All in all, the 2026 World Cup showed that the gap between the big names and the rest has narrowed. You can review how each nation finished in the tournament's overall standings.