Germany’s players took Julian Nagelsmann’s pre-tournament advice to heart, starting Euro 2024 with a powerful first-half display that resulted in a 5-1 win over Scotland at the Munich Football Arena.
The hosts scored three goals, forced a red card for Ryan Porteous, and demonstrated Nagelsmann’s successful rebalancing of the talented German team.
The match was essentially decided in the first half, with Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala scoring goals and Toni Kroos orchestrating lovely passing moves.
Scotland, who had taken over Munich for two days and filled the Aldstadt with tartan, managed to pull one back through an own goal by Antonio Rüdiger. However, Emre Can added a fifth goal in stoppage time to seal Germany’s victory.
The Munich Football Arena, a giant lighted doughnut on the city’s wooded fringes, saw heaving crowds gather hours before kick-off.
Despite some confusion over flags and emblems, the atmosphere was electric, with the anthems intensely sung and the pageantry inoffensive.
Steve Clarke opted for Callum McGregor over Billy Gilmour, while Nagelsmann stuck to his 4-2-3-1 formation. Germany dominated from the start, with Wirtz’s direct, creative energy key to their play.
Kroos was given too much space by Scotland, allowing him to control the game and set up the opening goal with a brilliant diagonal pass to Joshua Kimmich, who found Wirtz for a lovely first-time shot.
Germany doubled their lead with another quick-slow passing move, culminating in Musiala smashing the ball into the top corner.
Scotland’s night went from bad to worse when Porteous was sent off for a two-footed lunge on Ilkay Gündogan, resulting in a penalty converted by Kai Havertz.
Scotland made changes at half-time, but Germany remained in control. Musiala impressed on the left, and Niclas Füllkrug came on to score the fourth goal with a powerful strike.
Scotland’s players fought until the end, but they face a tough challenge against Switzerland in five days.
This match highlighted Germany’s talent, Nagelsmann’s coaching prowess, and the harsh realities of tournament football for Scotland.
