The first controversial moment occurred in the 102nd minute, with the score tied at 1-1. From a corner kick on the right wing, Jonathan Tah rose high to head the ball into Paraguay's net, celebrating enthusiastically with his teammates. However, after reviewing the incident on the VAR screen, referee Jalal Jayed determined that Waldemar Anton had fouled goalkeeper Orlando Gill before Tah's shot, disallowing the goal.

Jonathan Tah headed the ball into Orlando Gill's net, but the goal was disallowed during Germany's loss to Paraguay in the round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA, on 29/6/2026. Photo: AP

Jonathan Tah headed the ball into Orlando Gill's net, but the goal was disallowed during Germany's loss to Paraguay in the round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA, on 29/6/2026. Photo: AP

This ruling drew strong reactions from football experts. Speaking on MagentaTV, former Liverpool and Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp criticized referee Jalal Jayed for being too rigid, citing similar situations in the English Premier League. "If this is an invalid goal, then Arsenal could not have won the championship. They scored up to 60% of their goals in such a way. That is really too harsh", he stated.

Former German referee Thorsten Kinhofer also found the decision puzzling. "For me, this was not a foul, absolutely not", he commented on ZDF. "This decision is completely incomprehensible, especially given the many similar situations we have seen previously in the World Cup. The goalkeeper also immediately stood up; it was just a normal collision".

Former German international and 2014 World Cup winner Christoph Kramer agreed that Tah's goal should have been allowed. However, he also remarked, "If Germany has to rely on such a situation, then clearly we did not perform well in the preceding stages".

On social media platform X, German basketball legend Dirk Nowitzki also offered a concise but strong opinion: "That was not a foul".

The incident where Nick Woltemade's shot struck Gustavo Gomez's hand. Photo: Reuters

The incident where Nick Woltemade's shot struck Gustavo Gomez's hand. Photo: Reuters

Another contentious incident occurred in the 98th minute when substitute forward Nick Woltemade's shot struck Gustavo Gomez's hand inside the penalty area. However, the referee allowed play to continue, and VAR did not intervene.

This play brought back unpleasant memories for German fans. In the 2024 quarterfinals against Spain, Germany was also denied a penalty despite Marc Cucurella's handball in the box, subsequently conceding a goal in the 119th minute.

Commenting on MagentaTV, pundit Wolff Fuss questioned: "Is it Cucurella this year, or Gomez? The arm was extended away from the body. I believe that under UEFA's supervision, this situation should have been penalized".

At Gillette Stadium on 29/6, Julio Enciso opened the scoring for Paraguay before Kai Havertz equalized for Germany, sending the match into extra time and then a penalty shootout. There, Havertz, Woltemade, and Tah all missed their penalties, leading to Germany's 3-4 defeat and their third consecutive failure to reach the World Cup round of 16. In the two previous tournaments, in 2018 and 2022, they suffered even greater disappointment by being eliminated in the group stage.

Meanwhile, Paraguay will face either France or Sweden in the round of 16 at 4h on 5/7, Hanoi time.

Hong Duy (according to Bild)