World Cup 2026: Brazil saved itself in the last minutes, Germany sensationally crashed out — the main results of the matches on June 29–30

The 2026 FIFA World Cup playoffs immediately gave fans dramatic endings and loud surprises, notes xrust. In two days of play, the favorites faced serious resistance, and one of the main sensations of the tournament had already taken place — the German team completed the fight for the title after losing to Paraguay.

Brazil snatched victory from Japan

One of the most intense matches at the 1/16 finals stage was the meeting between Brazil and Japan. The Asian team opened the scoring already in the first half, taking advantage of the opponent's mistake in defense, and held the advantage for a long time.

After the break, the Brazilians increased the pressure. The experienced Casemiro restored the balance and, just as the game looked set to go into extra time, Gabriel Martinelli scored the winner in the 95th minute. This goal was one of the late winning goals in regulation time in a World Cup playoff match in many decades.

Germany lost to Paraguay in a penalty shootout

class=»notranslate»>__GTAG7__ The main sensation of the game day was the defeat of Germany.

Main and extra time ended with the score 1:1. The Germans even managed to celebrate the winning goal, but after watching VAR, the referee canceled the goal, recording a violation of the rules during the corner kick.

The fate of the meeting was decided in a penalty shootout, where Paraguay was more accurate. One of the tournament favorites unexpectedly left the World Cup already at the first stage of the playoffs, and the controversial episode with the canceled goal will certainly become one of the most discussed topics of the tournament.

Playoffs continue

On June 30, the fight for spots in the next round continues. Fans can expect three meetings:

• Cote d'Ivoire — Norway;
• France — Sweden;
• Mexico — Ecuador.

The winners of these matches will join the teams that have already secured their place in the next stage of the tournament.

The tournament reaches a new level

The expanded format of the World Cup with the participation of 48 teams made the playoff stage especially unpredictable. Already the first matches showed that even recognized favorites can no longer count on easy victories: the cost of any mistake has become too high, and each game is turning into a separate drama.

If the start of the 1/16 finals became so eventful with unexpected results, then the further stages promise an even more intense fight for the main football trophy of the planet.

From the pages of Reuters, The Guardian, NBC Sports.

Xrust World Cup 2026: Brazil saved itself in the last minutes, Germany sensationally crashed out — the main results of the matches on June 29–30