Germany and a round of 16 without a safety net

Germany await in the last 16 on Monday

Paraguay face Germany in the World Cup round of 16 on Monday, June 29 (1) (3) (4). The knockout bracket is set. One match, no safety net.

Your team got here by grinding out a 1–0 win over Türkiye and absorbing a 2–0 loss to the United States. Now it is Germany, a side that expects to go deep.

Rettig: "We have our backs against the wall"

DFB chief Andreas Rettig struck a confident but urgent tone ahead of the match. "I am really optimistic, especially when I see how the group deals with each other," he told MagentaTV (2).

He also added: "We have our backs against the wall." The Germans know Paraguay will not roll over. Rudi Völler and Julian Nagelsmann were both present during the interview, and the sense from the DFB camp is that this is a game they dare not lose.

Brown returns to full training before Paraguay clash

Germany's starting defender Brown rejoined team training ahead of the Paraguay match (5). He had been a doubt, and his return gives Nagelsmann a full-strength backline to choose from.

For Paraguay, that means facing a settled German defence, no last-minute patchwork to exploit.