Paraguay, a small South American country with a population of just seven million, shocked four-time champions Germany 4-3 via tie-breaker on Monday to storm into the World Cup round of 16 for the first time ever. And the man who started this surge against the Germans, striker Julio Enciso, 22, couldn’t control his emotions after the final whistle. Holding back tears, Enciso dedicated the win to his late grandfather. “My thoughts today immediately went to my grandfather. I used to watch Paraguay playing matches sitting next to him. I sent a kiss to the sky. I’m sure he’s proud of me. This is the best day of my life. This day is God’s gift,” said Enciso, whose 42nd minute strike was his country’s first ever goal in FIFA World Cup knockouts before German striker Kai Havertz (54th min) levelled the scores. The match was decided by sudden death (see shootout box).

Paraguay had a disastrous start to the World Cup, losing 4-1 to co-hosts USA. They beat Turkey 1-0 next, but saw midfielder Miguel Almiron become the first player in World Cup history to be sent off for covering his mouth under FIFA’s new anti-abuse rule. This led to the revocation of the FIFA accreditation of a Paraguay commentator, who criticised this decision on air. Paraguay sneaked through to the round of 32 as the seventh-best team out of eight after managing a draw in their last league match against Australia.