The route to the World Cup final is officially mapped out in the knockout stage.
Germany and Paraguay meet in one of the World Cup‘s more intriguing round-of-32 clashes when they do battle at Foxborough’s Boston Stadium on Monday evening.
A last-16 spot against the winner from France and Sweden‘s showdown awaits either Die Mannschaft or Los Guaraníes – but who will be going through?
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Germany vs Paraguay prediction
Julian Nagelsmann’s side appeared all set for a perfect Group E campaign after a back-to-back wins over Curacao and Ivory Coast but were stunned by Ecuador.
Paraguay, meanwhile, benefited from the World Cup’s new third-place qualification rankling by taking a solitary point in their Group D schedule against Australia.
Germany’s recent history at the tournament has been less than inspiring with successive group stage exits breaking a 64-year run in the knockout rounds.
In contrast, Gustavo Alfaro’s side have reached the knockouts in three of their past four appearances at the World Cup despite exiting at the round-of-16 each time.
But history bodes well for the four-time champions after their previous competitive meeting with Paraguay coming in the 2002 edition where they reached the final.
As one of the early favourites, the odds continue to favour Germany to progress with a squad brimming with quality and a surprise package in super sub Deniz Undav.
The Stuttgart forward’s three goals off the bench averages out at one every 50 minutes and 47 seconds, putting him ahead of Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe.
We’re backing Undav to have the last laugh again as Germany’s team of pure talent is set to overpower Paraguay for a second time in their World Cup history.
Score prediction: Germany 3-0 Paraguay
