Germany: Scotland’s nightmare start to Euro 2024 began with a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Germany in the opening game.
After a goal from Florian Wirtz in the tenth minute and another from Jamal Musiala in the next, they had a steep hill to climb from the start.
After a brilliant initial match, Musiala hit the ball hard into the net’s roof, severely depressing the Tartan Army.
Just before halftime, Ryan Porteous was sent off for fouling Ilkay Gundogan in the box, and Kai Havertz of Arsenal converted the penalty to make it even worse.
After the interval, Germany was still in complete control, and Niclas Fullkrug added one more goal to make it 4-0.
There was a small glimmer of hope as Scotland supporters briefly celebrated an own goal by Antonio Rudiger in the 87th minute.
Nevertheless, Emre Can’s goal in stoppage time made it 5-1, the greatest opening-round loss in Euro history.
Scotland made a lot of mistakes in their performance, and they will need to do much better when they play Hungary and Switzerland next.
Captain Andy Roberts said that the team “didn’t really show up” and referred to it as “hugely disappointing.”
He noted that although they could be upset tomorrow, they had to “bounce back quickly” for the game on Wednesday.
“We have to dust ourselves down, we’ve got five days to sort ourselves out and go again against Switzerland,” Robertson stated.
Steve Clarke, the manager, looked somber as he noted that the players were not good with or without the ball.
However, he stated, “What we need to do is still in front of us”.
Ally McCoist hailed Germany’s incredible goals from Fulkrug and Musiala, but asserted that Scotland would need “more belief” to succeed in the campaign.
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