Scotland crumbled before a blistering display from Germany as Steve Clarke's 10-man team lost badly in Munich to start Euro 2024.
After barely ten minutes, Florian Wirtz waltzed on to the ball to steer in the first goal, setting the tone in an electrifying Allianz Arena. Nine minutes later, Jamal Musiala's fierce strike nearly tore through Angus Gunn's net and the hearts of the startled Scots behind the goal.
And with Ryan Porteous' red card, Kai Havertz scored the third goal from spot just before the half ended, leaving Scotland with the highest mountains to climb. After Antonio Rudiger's own goal deflected late in the game, Germany's fourth goal was scored by replacement Niclas Fullkrug, who struck high into the goal. The suffering Scotland supporters were ecstatic at the strike, but as the game approached injury time, Emre Can silenced them.
That made it certain that this would be the largest victory in a Euros opening game. Despite Scotland's shortcomings, this German march will inspire hope in the host country once more. The three-time champions of this competition started the season poorly, drawing with Mexico and losing to Turkey and Austria until Nagelsmann took over the national team in September.
The general populace was not persuaded. But victories over the Netherlands and France propelled them into this on a surge of optimism. Territory dominance and patience culminated in Wirtz's early endeavour. Musiala and Fullkrug's strikes provided clear proof of a confident team. At moments, the former was unplayable, and Toni Kroos was once again in charge of the midfield. The horrifying statistics for this destruction were revealed. a 94% passing accuracy, 19 attempts, 43 attacks, and 655 passes completed compared to 193 for Scotland. Additionally, they travelled 9 kilometres more than their defeated rivals.
This summer, a lot of people will be staring at the hosts anxiously. Scotland left regretting the finals even more. Andy Robertson, the captain of Scotland, was full of confidence on Thursday, saying that he had no regrets and that it was time to become legendary. But just over a day later, the Scotland supporters were only heard singing a familiar lament into the pitch-black Bavarian night. Each country has its own tale of misfortune, but Clarke's team never really competed with the colourful hosts of Julian Nagelsmann, even though they were filled with guilt that they hadn't done themselves credit at the last European Championships.
From the very first minute, there were warning flags. The fierce press, the lunging off-the-shoulder sprints, and the frequently raided high line exposed. Everyone within the stadium knew what was going to happen, and Porteous' horrifying red for a two-footed attack on Ilkay Gundogan just reinforced that. Scotland's lone shot on goal, which struck Rudiger and fooled Manuel Neuer, resulted in a goal. Such blatant disregard for the fact that goal differential could be crucial if Clarke can inspire his squad to produce more in their final two games against Switzerland and Hungary will be extremely concerning. Julian Nagelsmann, the head coach of Germany, stated:
"We were outstanding in the opening 20 minutes. Although we lost, the fact that our players voiced their displeasure about it is encouraging.
"I was somewhat taken aback by Scotland's lack of aggression in the opening 20 minutes. We had such focused ball possession that I believe they were taken aback. "They then defended deeper and didn't high press as they have in the qualifying games at times." Steve Clarke, head coach of Scotland:
"We were unable to match Germany's great performance. We were not very good on the ball, and we were not very good defensively either. "
The first half sprinted away from us extremely fast; we failed to establish any kind of foundation. It's all about the reaction now, so let's watch how they respond. The goal is four points. Since we didn't receive any tonight, the next two games will still aim for it."
