![\"Netherlands](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782822728_358_0_Netherlands-v-Morocco-Round-Of-32-FIFA-World-Cup-2026.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe change for the 2026 tournament has split opinion<\/p>\n
Netherlands players react to their World Cup exit(Image: ISI Photos via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Germany and the Netherlands are among the first high-profile casualties of the revamped World Cup<\/a> format. Two of football’s most decorated nations have been sent packing from the tournament after losing on penalties to<\/a> Paraguay<\/a> and Morocco<\/a>, respectively, following 1-1 draws.<\/p>\n Under the previous format, both sides would have cruised into the last 16 after finishing top of their groups. However, this World Cup is unlike any before it, having been expanded from 32 to 48 teams.<\/a><\/p>\n It has seen 12 groups, with the top two from each group joined by the eight best third-placed sides in a brand-new round of 32. Paraguay were one of those third-placed qualifiers, making Germany<\/a> firm favourites to advance despite their torrid recent record at the tournament, having suffered group-stage exits in both 2018 and 2022.<\/p>\n Paraguay didn’t merely progress – they handed Germany their first-ever penalty shootout defeat at a World Cup. Julio Enciso broke the deadlock against the run of play in the first half, before Kai Havertz<\/a> equalised shortly after the interval.<\/p>\n Get the latest World Cup news straight to your inbox by signing up to our Make Football Great Again newsletter now!<\/a><\/p>\n Jonathan Tah had a header ruled out during extra time following a VAR review. The Bayern Munich<\/a> centre-back then squandered the decisive penalty, blazing over the bar to allow Jose Canale to seal a 4-3 shootout victory.<\/p>\n The Netherlands<\/a> suffered an equally heartbreaking exit, dumped out by Morocco as Ismael Saibari slotted home the winning spot-kick after a tense shootout littered with misses and fine saves at both ends.<\/p>\n The tournament’s expansion, which now stretches beyond five weeks and doesn’t finish until July 19, has divided opinion. Supporters argue it offers nations like Wales and Scotland<\/a> better chances of qualification, even though the former fell short this time after their play-off defeat.<\/p>\n Kai Havertz after missing from the spot against Paraguay(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n We’ve also witnessed smaller nations thrive, such as Cape Verde<\/a>, who became the smallest country ever to reach the knockout rounds.<\/p>\n Detractors have pointed to the watering down of quality and the reduced stakes for major nations. The fact teams can advance from their group despite losing twice has also been deemed unsatisfactory by many.<\/p>\n Devasted Germany players look on as Paraguay celebrations begin(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n Even the manager of a side that finished third isn’t satisfied with the format, despite profiting from it, with Ghana<\/a> boss Carlos Queiroz branding it “vulgar and ordinary.”<\/p>\n But whether fans, players and managers like it or not, the format is here to stay. The round of 32 continues this week, with England facing DR Congo<\/a> in Atlanta on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Join our new WhatsApp community<\/a> and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The change for the 2026 tournament has split opinion Netherlands players react to their World Cup exit(Image: ISI…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27898,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[5618,365,18816,6,4165,4159],"class_list":["post-27897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-netherlands","tag-fifa","tag-fifa-world-cup","tag-germany-football-team","tag-netherlands","tag-netherlands-football-team","tag-world-cup-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27897"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27897\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Kai](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782822728_410_0_Germany-v-Paraguay-Round-Of-32-FIFA-World-Cup-2026.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Devasted](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782822729_579_0_Germany-v-Paraguay-Round-Of-32-FIFA-World-Cup-2026.jpg\")
<\/p>\n