Germany Dominates 10-Man Scotland 5-1 in Euro 2024 Opener
Germany couldn't have asked for a better start to the European Championship.
Goals from Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala in a commanding first half set the stage for Germany's confidence-boosting 5-1 victory over a 10-man Scotland in the Euro 2024 opener on Friday.
Germany hardly broke a sweat against a sub-par Scotland at Allianz Arena, delivering an ideal result to kick off their tournament and generate excitement across the country.
“Yes, that’s exactly the way we wanted to start and, to be honest, we needed a start just like that,” Germany captain İlkay Gündoğan told German broadcaster ZDF. “I had a good feeling before the game already, to be honest, and it came true, thank God. But exactly this atmosphere, the euphoria in the stadium now with our own fans, that’s exactly what we need in order to go far.”
Pre-tournament expectations for Germany were low after disappointing exits in their last three major tournaments. However, they opened with their biggest victory in Euros history.
Germany dominated the first half, which ended poorly for Scotland when defender Ryan Porteous was sent off and Kai Havertz converted the resulting penalty. Substitutes Niclas Füllkrug and Emre Can added to Scotland’s misery in the second half.
“The first 20 minutes were very impressive. The first goals were very good,” Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said. “It’s very valuable that many players performed well early on. It was only the first step but a very good one and we can build on this one. We’re very happy.”
Scotland, without a single shot on goal for most of the match, finally gave their fans something to celebrate late on when Antonio Rüdiger scored an own goal.
Steve Clarke’s side will need to improve against Hungary and Switzerland to progress from Group A and reach the knockout stage for the first time.
“Difficult night. We didn’t play to our standard. The German team was excellent,” Clarke said. “We feel as though we’ve let ourselves down. We’re better than that. Hopefully, we can show that in the next two games.”
Scotland’s supporters were in high spirits at the start of the match, but were quickly silenced when Wirtz scored in the 10th minute. Toni Kroos picked out Joshua Kimmich with a brilliant crossfield lob, and he rolled it across for Wirtz to fire in. Wirtz became Germany’s youngest Euros goal-scorer at 21.
Musiala, 67 days older than Wirtz, doubled Germany’s tally nine minutes later after a well-played combination with Havertz.
Just before halftime, Scotland goalkeeper Angus Gunn parried a header from Gündoğan, but when Gündoğan went for the rebound, he was brought down by a thunderous challenge from Porteous. Referee Clément Turpin showed Porteous a straight red card and awarded Germany a penalty, which Havertz converted.
Scotland managed to hold out in the second half until an exchange between Musiala and Gündoğan fell kindly for Füllkrug, who unleashed a thunderbolt into the top right corner. Scotland’s late consolation came when Kieran McKenna’s header from a free kick deflected in off Rüdiger.
Scotland conceded five goals for the first time in 12 years when Can, who joined the squad two days earlier as a late replacement for the ill Aleksandar Pavlovic, curled in a stoppage-time goal.
“A great feeling and a crazy story … I was on vacation two days ago,” Can told ZDF. “Then the call came on Wednesday, and on Wednesday evening I met up with the team, trained once yesterday, came in today (off the bench), and scored a goal. I’m thankful to Julian (Nagelsmann) and the whole coaching staff for their trust.”
Late German soccer great Franz Beckenbauer was honored before the match, and the capacity crowd included German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Scotland First Minister John Swinney, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Next up for Germany is Hungary on Wednesday, while Scotland faces Switzerland.
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