7M - World Cup Preview: Germany VS Paraguay - Team news and predicted lineups

Germany’s impressive 11-game winning streak has been broken in their final Group E World Cup clash. The team took the lead against Ecuador but ultimately conceded twice, falling to a 2-1 defeat.

Even so, the loss had no impact on their tournament fate. Comfortable wins over Curacao (7-1) and Ivory Coast (2-1) had already guaranteed Germany first place in the group and a knockout-stage spot.

Now led by head coach Julian Nagelsmann, Germany will aim to bounce back when they take on Paraguay in the World Cup round of 32. The match kicks off at 22:30 CEST on Monday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.

Germany’s professional football director Rudi Völler spoke to the media on Saturday, looking back on his side’s group-stage campaign.

“Before the tournament, we would have been very happy to seal first place and qualification after just two matches,” Völler said.

“We earned that result and we are rightly satisfied. But we also keep things in perspective. The whole group knows we still have plenty to improve on.

“The World Cup really starts now. Our full focus is on Monday’s game against Paraguay. We will give everything we have, push to our limits, put in a strong performance and earn progression to the next round.”

Ranked 41st in the FIFA world rankings, Paraguay qualified for the knockout stage after finishing third in Group D with four points, behind Australia and the United States.

The South American side had a terrible start to their World Cup campaign, suffering a 4-1 opening defeat to the USA. However, they showed great resilience, beating Turkey 1-0 and playing a goalless draw with Australia in their final group game to secure their place in the knockout rounds.