Paraguay’s president, Santiago Peña, declared a national holiday after the country’s football team eliminated Germany from the World Cup in a penalty shootout. Paraguay won the shootout 4-3 after the round-of-32 match in Foxborough finished 1-1 following extra time.

Peña announced the measure on June 30, hours after the result, and published a photograph showing him signing the decree. He presented the victory as an expression of Paraguayan perseverance and said the country would celebrate together. The decree said the government should facilitate public gatherings marking an achievement it considered to extend beyond sport.

The holiday allowed government offices and businesses to close while families and communities joined celebrations. Paraguay, a landlocked South American country of approximately seven million people, had entered the contest as an underdog against four-time world champions Germany. The victory sent Paraguay into the tournament’s round of 16 and produced widespread national celebrations.

The decision followed a similar step elsewhere in South America during the same competition. Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa had declared a public holiday after Ecuador defeated Germany 2-1 in Group E, a result that secured Ecuador’s progress to the knockout stage. Paraguay therefore became the second country in the region to mark an upset of Germany with a holiday.

For Germany, the elimination compounded questions raised by its earlier group-stage loss. For Paraguay, the shootout provided a rare opportunity to advance against one of international football’s historically strongest teams. The match remained level through 120 minutes before the penalty kicks settled qualification.

Peña’s decree did not alter the tournament schedule or the team’s next assignment. Its purpose was domestic: to recognize the result formally and make space for collective celebration before Paraguay’s round-of-16 match. The measure connected the national team’s performance with a broader moment of public unity in a country where football carries substantial cultural importance.

Officials did not identify Paraguay’s scorers, its next opponent or the date of the next match. It also did not quantify the economic effect of closing workplaces. The confirmed details are the 1-1 match score, the 4-3 shootout, the elimination of Germany and Peña’s signed holiday declaration. Together, they describe both the sporting result and the government’s immediate response without determining what further progress Paraguay would make in the competition.

The government language emphasized gathering and celebration rather than presenting the closure as compensation or emergency relief. The holiday followed a result achieved outside Paraguay, in Foxborough, but the decree applied domestically. No duration beyond the announced national holiday or exceptions for essential services were detailed at that stage.