Kiryakov: The German National Team Wants to Win Purely Over Paraguay, But Their Opponents Are Fighting Deadly
July 2, 2026 Β· Global
Sergey Kiryakov commented on the German national team's elimination from the 2026 World Cup after losing to Paraguay in a penalty shootout, highlighting that Germany underestimated their opponents.
The famous former Russian football player, Sergey Kiryakov, expressed his opinion about the German national team's elimination from the 2026 World Cup after losing to Paraguay in a penalty shootout in the 1/16 finals.
"Paraguay fought tooth and nail against the German national team. Meanwhile, Germany thought they could win just by individual ability. In terms of player quality, they should be able to beat other teams and be among the top six teams that have the potential to win the World Cup. However, many top teams experienced difficulties. Most of them were able to rise and change the course of the match even in difficult conditions. England managed to do it against DR Congo, and Belgium against Senegal. However, Germany could not get up and continue playing as usual. In every player, there was the thought: 'We will still win. If not, we still have Neuer in the penalty shootout. We can definitely handle it.' Unfortunately, they were wrong. Players thought they could win purely on ability alone. This is what caused this surprising result to occur. Many said that the German national team lacked a central striker, which is a characteristic of this team.