Paraguay eliminates Germany in penalty shootout to advance to World Cup 2026 round of 16
via Le Matin1 min read
Paraguay secured a spot in the World Cup 2026 round of 16 after defeating Germany in a penalty shootout. Paraguay's Julio Enciso scored the opening goal in the 42nd minute, beating Manuel Neuer. Germany equalized in the 54th minute with a goal from Kai Havertz. Despite numerous German attacks and an impressive performance by Paraguayan goalkeeper Orlando Gill, the score remained tied. Extra time did not separate the teams, even with several German opportunities and a disallowed goal by Jonathan Tah. The match proceeded to a penalty shootout, where Paraguay triumphed 4-3. Paraguay will now face the winner of the match between France and Sweden in the next round.
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Dutch media outlets, including the public broadcaster NOS, the daily Algemeen Dagblad AD, De Telegraaf, and ESPN.nl, have acknowledged Morocco's deserved victory over the Netherlands in the 2026 World Cup round of sixteen. NOS stated that Morocco was the better team and that the Dutch were dominated by the African champions, particularly in midfield. The media group noted that Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman's decision to switch to a five-man defense, a first in two years, demonstrated the respect Morocco's team commanded. This tactical change aimed to counter the Atlas Lions' strengths after the Netherlands' defensive struggles in the group stage. NOS also observed that this defeat continues the Netherlands' long series of failures against major global football nations. AD reported that the Netherlands simply failed to gain a technical advantage over the Moroccans, who dictated the pace of the match in Monterrey, Mexico. De Telegraaf echoed this sentiment, stating that Morocco played the kind of football the Netherlands was expected to develop. ESPN.nl concluded that Morocco abruptly ended the Netherlands' World Cup dream in an exciting match.
Must ReadThe World Bank's Board of Directors approved a $250 million loan on June 12 for Morocco's Digital Transformation Acceleration Program, aligning with the "Maroc Digital 2030" strategy. This program includes a component dedicated to the offshoring sector, which faces increasing competition, evolving international regulations, and the growing impact of automation and artificial intelligence. Morocco's offshoring sector employed 148,500 people in 2024, generated $2.9 billion in revenue in 2025, and contributed 1.6% to the national GDP. The sector is crucial for female employment, with women holding 47% of positions in 2024, approximately 70,000 jobs. However, the sector is vulnerable due to its strong reliance on the French-speaking market, with call centers accounting for 50% of offshoring revenue in 2023. Growing competition from countries like Egypt, Tunisia, Madagascar, and Senegal, along with automation and AI, are reducing labor cost advantages. The World Bank suggests Morocco needs to move beyond cost-based strategies to develop skills for complex, high-value-added services, enhance international visibility, and promote the new "Offre Maroc Offshoring." Morocco faces a shortage of digital talent, with only about 13,000 digital talents trained annually. Initiatives like JobInTech aim to train 15,000 new talents by 2027, with over 2,800 trained or in training since 2023, 41% of whom are women. The World Bank program aims to certify 20,000 people in advanced digital skills by
Morocco is undertaking a project to enhance the financial oversight of its 267 public establishments and enterprises EEP. As of September 2025, the public portfolio includes 217 public establishments and 50 public limited companies with direct Treasury participation. The Directorate of Public Enterprises and Privatization DEPP is responsible for their financial control, operating under Law 69-00, which is now set for modernization. The project, to be managed by an external provider, aims to create a single digital channel for end-to-end control of commitment and payment acts. It involves two main components: enriching the "AD@E" platform, operational since 2022 for payment regularity control, and developing a spending management module for EEPs without their own information systems. The DEPP currently uses "Massar" for economic, financial, and social data, and "AD@E" for payment regularity control through six modules. The new project will integrate an EEP control module, previously managed separately within "Massar," into the existing system. This expansion will cover the monitoring of commitment acts, such as contracts and purchase orders, from reception to approval or rejection, as well as supporting the verification missions of government commissioners and tracking recommendations. The project is structured in three phases: defining functional and technical specifications, development, testing, and deployment, and finally, training, capacity building, and skills transfer.