She was on her knees, praying, when José Canale took the final penalty. And when the ball went in, Larissa Riquelme — the Paraguayan model the world met at South Africa 2010 — burst into tears in front of the cameras at Gillette Stadium in Boston. 😭🔥
Paraguay has just eliminated Germany on penalties (4-3) in the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup. The same team that opened the tournament with a 4-1 thrashing against the United States. Goalkeeper Orlando Gill saved two crucial penalties and became a national hero overnight. Riquelme, there as a reporter for La Tribuna, shared everything on her Instagram Stories: the tension, the tears, the euphoria. “We are not a second-rate team”, she said through sobs. 🙌🇵🇾
President Santiago Peña declared a national holiday for June 30. Paraguay’s next stop is July 4 in Philadelphia. Sixteen years after going viral in South Africa, Larissa once again took center stage at a World Cup — this time, with much more than smiles. 💪