TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Paraguayan President Santiago Pena declared June 30 a national holiday following the country's victory over Germany in the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup at Boston Stadium in the United States the day before.
Paraguay defeated Germany to advance to the round of 16 on penalties, 4-3, on Tuesday, June 29, local time, after the two teams played to a 1-1 draw after ordinary time and extra time.
"(The holiday) commemorates the Paraguayan national team's epic victory over four-time world champion Germany and its historic advancement to the World Cup round of 16," Pena wrote on his official X account on Tuesday.
For Pena, this extraordinary achievement achieved by the players on the pitch transcends the boundaries of a mere sporting competition and deserves widespread appreciation from all elements of the nation.
Pena's political move makes Paraguay the second South American country to immediately implement a national holiday for the 2026 World Cup.
The first country to do so was Ecuador, which defeated Germany 2-1 in their final Group E match, securing their place in the round of 32 as one of the eight best third-place finishers.
In the round of 32, Ecuador will face Mexico, which secured a perfect victory in the group stage without conceding a single goal, at the Mexico City Stadium on Wednesday morning Jakarta time.
Los Albirroja, as Paraguay is known, will face the winner of the round of 16 match between France and Sweden, which will be played on Wednesday morning Jakarta time at the New York Stadium in New Jersey, United States.
If Paraguay advances to the quarterfinals, they will repeat their best World Cup performance, from 2010 in South Africa.
Read: World Cup 2026 Recap: Paraguay, Brazil, Morocco Reach Round of 16
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