Germany had won their previous four World Cup shoot-outs, according to the account. That run appeared in danger early when Orlando Gill saved penalties from Kai Havertz and Nick Woltemade.
Neuer’s response was immediate. The goalkeeper stopped Fabian Balbuena, leaving the shoot-out level at 3-3 and forcing sudden death. The reprieve lasted only until Tah’s miss, after which Jose Canale reportedly converted to send Paraguay through.
The sequence underlined how little separates survival from elimination. One save restored Germany’s position; one misplaced penalty ended it.
Germany’s shoot-out history has often carried its own weight. Four previous victories created an expectation of control, but that record offered no protection once the latest contest moved beyond the regulation sequence.
Tah’s role made the ending particularly stark. Centre-backs are expected to provide defensive security, yet in a shoot-out they can become the final link in a chain built on nerve, technique and placement. His effort did not test Gill; it removed Germany’s margin for error.
The report places Tah alongside David Trezeguet, Stuart Pearce and Roberto Baggio, players whose misses became inseparable from famous World Cup exits.
Trezeguet struck the bar in the 2006 final, Pearce was denied in the 1990 semi-final, and Baggio shot over in the 1994 final. Tah’s moment came earlier in the knockout stage, but the emotional pattern is familiar: a long match reduced to one kick.
Germany’s next challenge will be to ensure the defeat becomes a lesson rather than a lingering identity. The next major knockout shoot-out will show whether the old reputation has truly disappeared-or whether a new one can be built.