Scotland endured a nightmare start to their Euro 2024 campaign as Germany ran riot in a 5-1 win in the opening match of the tournament. The German front-line did the damage, with Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala setting the tone within 20 minutes, before Kai Havertz added a third from the penalty spot in first-half stoppage time.
He was withdrawn just after the hour mark by Niclas Fullkrug, who wasted little time in lashing a strike into the top corner for Germany’s fourth. Scotland barely made it out of their own half, but did lift the spirits of their travelling fans late on, when Antonio Rudiger turned into his own net from a Scott McKenna header, only for Emre Can to add a fifth for Germany with the final kick of the match.
It was a damaging start to Scotland’s hopes of reaching the knockout stages of a major tournament for the first time, but matches against Hungary and Switzerland were always likely to prove the defining encounters.
