What you need to know: Germany and Paraguay meet in Round of 32 knockout at Boston Stadium

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — After winning Group E, four-time champions Germany face off against Paraguay at 4:30 p.m. in the first knockout round game at Boston Stadium.

Key Points

Both sides enter Monday’s match at least somewhat bloodied: Germany finished the group stage with a surprising 2-1 loss to Ecuador; Paraguay opened the World Cup by taking a 4-1 beating to the U.S. but recovered to clinch a knockout round berth by drawing Australia and beating Turkey.

Germany remain a world soccer power but are in uncharted territory. After winning the title in 2014, the Germans failed to get out of the group stage in consecutive World Cups. Even the loss to Ecuador last week is a failure when compared to their typical dominant and ruthless form.

Paraguay may have had a misstep in the opener against the U.S. — call it jitters, or just not being up for the game against the high-octane hosts — but that result is likely in the past. Paraguay had the second-best defensive record in South American World Cup qualification and have picked up consecutive clean sheets after dropping the opener.

Players to Watch

No striker on Paraguay’s roster has scored more than seven goals for his national team, which is unusual for an established World Cup competitor. The team’s leading scorer is Miguel Almiron (10 goals), who currently plays for Atlanta United in MLS. The former Newcastle United midfielder is Paraguay’s playmaker, which means most attacks flow through him. He’s coming off a suspension.

Deniz Undav has been the main offensive talisman for Germany. The VfB Stuttgart has three goals and two assists in the tournament (6th in the Golden Boot race).

Stats that make you go “hmmm”

Germany have given up at least one goal in five of their last six games.

The Germans also lost their final group stage game — and no nation has ever won the World Cup after doing this.

Local connections:

Monday is Germany’s second visit to New England in recent years. They also defeated the U.S., 3-1, in a friendly played in Hartford in October 2023.

Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann was a youth player for 1860 Munich in 2002, which was the year New England Revolution legend and leading scorer Taylor Twellman left the German club’s second team to enter the MLS Superdraft.

Paraguay coach Gustavo Alfaro also coached Ecuador from 2020-23; calling in current Revolution striker Leo Campana 17 times.

More interesting notes:

Alfaro is good for a hot quote. He once compared a Costa Rica team he managed to Bruce Willis in “The Sixth Sense.” He’s been outspoken over this World Cup’s lack of affordability and the addition of hydration breaks, referring to them instead as “commercial breaks.”

Germany have a goalkeeper controversy. Manuel Neuer is 40, was a surprise roster inclusion, and has the lowest save percentage in the tournament (42.9 percent).

Quick Pitch Points

Team Nicknames: Germany are Die Mannschaft (the team), Paraguay are Los Guaraníes (The Guaraníes) or La Albirroja (The White and Red)

Odds: Germany -265, Paraguay +600, Draw +400 | to advance to the round of 16: Germany is -950 to advance, while Paraguay is +509

Best World Cup finish: Germany, champions in 1954, 1974, 1990, 2014; Paraguay, quarterfinals in 2010