Germany 5-1 Scotland: Hosts rampant and visitors poor in opener at Allianz

Hosts Germany kicked off EURO2024 with a rampant win over Scotland in Munich tonight, seriously squashing their opponents’ hopes of progressing to the knockout stages for the first time. Florian Wirtz started the party with a calm finish before ten minutes were up, and it was followed by a thunderous strike from 21-year-old Jamal Musiala. Scotland went into halftime a man down, with Ryan Porteous seeing red for a challenge in the penalty area which led to the third goal from Kai Havertz on the spot.

Things continued in the second half with the substitutes running the show; Niclas Füllkrug’s was probably the pick of the eventual five goals (Emre Can added the last in stoppage time) and Scotland were utterly anonymous. Bizarrely, they got on the scoresheet in the 87th minute through an Antonio Rüdiger own goal. It means Scotland start their campaign with a 5-1 loss, and not one shot on target – but the first chapter of a potential fairytale written for Julian Nagelsmann’s side.

As it happened

EURO2024 opened, as you would expect, in an electric atmosphere in Munich  – but it wasn’t only the home fans making the noise at first. The Scottish contingent in the Allianz Arena far exceeded the allocated 10,000 and their passion was audible. Germany, unsurprisingly, started with the majority of the ball and looked to make an instant impact with a Florian Wirtz effort inside the opening minute – but Angus Gunn blocked it off with equal determination, and the flag was raised for offside anyway.

Any viewers hoping for an underdog upset to open this summer’s EUROs would have been sorely disappointed. Scotland’s low block out of possession, which they had clearly decided was their best chance of holding back the German tide, held for a whole nine minutes. A searching ball out to the right was then pinged in to Wirtz, whose effort went agonisingly in off the post. It looked at first as though Gunn’s hand might deny him, but his effort at a save wasn’t quite strong enough to stop Germany starting their tournament exactly according to the script.

It took them even less time to double their lead; Scotland seriously struggled to get on the ball after going behind. After 18 minutes, İlkay Gündoğan split the defence with an inch-perfect pass that Havertz picked up and looked for all the world as though he would try to finish – but the Arsenal forward showcased intelligence by laying the ball off for Jamal Musiala, whose finish shook the net and raised the roof off the Allianz.

Scotland were being soundly punished for allowing pockets to open up in what they hoped would be a tight and disciplined defence, and almost conceded a third immediately. Spooked by his goal only seven minutes earlier, the defence were quick to try to stop Musiala from getting a shot off again when he was in possession on the edge of the box and he was sandwiched in between an overzealous Kieran Tierney and Ryan Christie. Referee Clement Turpin pointed straight to the spot – but a VAR check revealed the contact to be just outside the penalty area and Gunn saved the resulting freekick, meaning Scotland were spared from going three goals down inside half an hour. 

It didn’t last. Die Mannschaft continued to open up a gulf in quality over their opponents, demonstrating exactly why they are among the favourites. It seemed only a matter of time before their third, which came on the stroke of halftime. Gündoğan suffered a studs-up, ill-timed challenge from Ryan Porteous; it only took the referee a glance at the VAR monitor to issue the hosts with a penalty, and Porteous with a straight red card. The spot-kick was dutifully buried by Kai Havertz, and Scotland’s night went from bad to far worse.

They started the second half in largely the same fashion; Wirtz and Musiala were clearly panicking the defenders and Anthony Ralston went into the book straight away for his desperate attempts to delay the attack. Clarke appeared to be in full damage limitation mode, switching out loan striker Che Adams for another body at the back, Grant Hanley. Gunn was called back into action by a powerful Antonio Rüdiger effort, Germany having further reinforced their efforts by bringing on Pascal Groß to replace the booked Andrich.

Germany’s siege continued, with Wirtz fluffing what would’ve been a brace for him over the bar fifteen minutes into the half. Musiala skipped straight through the defence from the left multiple times, proving a nightmare for the Scottish back line. There was no further score with an hour played, but Nagelsmann was clearly comfortable enough to rest some starting players. His changes only served to show the depth of his side: Havertz and Wirtz were replaced by Leroy Sané and Niclas Füllkrug. Nagelsmann’s faith in his subs proved correct quickly; five minutes after his introduction, Füllkrug hit the mark in terrific fashion. A back-heeled layoff from Gündoğan set him up to strike with his laces, bullet-like into the top right corner. He was almost at the double less than ten minutes later, but had his effort chalked off for offside.

The Germans, in complete control (as they had been from about ten minutes in) further showcased their depth by switching to Musiala (who received a standing ovation) for Thomas Müller and Toni Kroos for Emre Can. Scotland also attempted some changes; Kenny McLean, Billy Gilmour, Scott McKenna, and Lawrence Shankland were all introduced but to absolutely no avail. Clarke’s side were under constant attack from an imperious German team and created no chances to make their mark on the game.

Despite an overall dismal display, the Tartan Army were given a consolation goal to cheer for in the dying minutes; their set pieces had failed to trouble the defence all night, with Manuel Neuer not having a single save to make. This time, substitute McKenna managed to nudge it with his head onto Rüdiger, whose accidental no-look finish sacrificed his team’s clean sheet.

Even then, 4-1 seemed far from guaranteed – and sure enough, things got worse for Scotland (again). It just goes to show how deep the talent runs in German football that Emre Can, who wasn’t even in the squad until a few days ago, became their fifth goalscorer of the night in stoppage time with an excellent precision finish into the bottom corner, assisted by fellow substitute Müller.

It was a fairytale start for die Mannschaft, who are looking to restore their nation’s major tournament reputation on home soil. They were dominant, full of quality, full of goals – the only thing that wasn’t tested was their defending, thanks to Scotland’s abysmal outing. The night followed the script exactly – leaving Steve Clarke back at the drawing board for their next outing.

Stay here on FromTheSpot for post-match reaction and continued tournament coverage.

The lineups

SCO: Gunn; Ralston, Hendry, Porteous, Tierney, Robertson; Christie, McGregor, McTominay, McGinn; Adams

GER: Neuer; Kimmich, Rüdiger, Tah, Mittelstadt; Andrich, Kroos, Musiala, Gündoğan, Wirtz; Havertz.