Roy Keane hit out at Andy Robertson’s “rubbish” post-match comments after Scotland’s 5-1 defeat to Germany in the opening match at Euro 2024.
The Tartan Army travelled in numbers to Munich but they had little to cheer on a miserable night, as Scotland found themselves 3-0 down and reduced to ten men by half-time, as Ryan Porteous was sent off for a lunge on Ilkay Gundogan.
Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala and Kai Havertz provided the goals, and there was more punishment after the break, with Niclas Fullkrug lashing in a fourth and Emre Can scoring with the final kick of the match, shortly after Antonio Rudiger had turned into his own net.
Scotland were the firm underdogs going into the match, entering the tournament with little in the way in the way of form, but this was a particularly painful night, as Germany cruised to the biggest win by a host nation in the opening match of a European Championship.
"First half, we just got it all wrong really,” Robertson said.
😤 "It's no good saying 'we had a gameplan' it's rubbish!"
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 14, 2024
👀 Roy Keane holds nothing back after #GERSCO #Euro2024 pic.twitter.com/cjOxFH7R16
“Didn't show up, weren't aggressive enough, and we let good players get on the ball. They obviously had a gameplan, as we did, and their gameplan worked a million time better than ours. It wasn’t because of the practice, it was because we didn’t put it together on the pitch.”
Scotland did not manage to lay a glove on Germany, even with 11 men in the first-half, as the likes of Musiala and Wirtz ran riot at the Allianz Arena, leaving Keane frustrated at the effort off the ball from Robertson and his team-mates.
“He said ‘we weren’t aggressive enough’ - you have to be aggressive in a game of football,” Keane said.
“Being aggressive is part of being a footballer. I love watching skilful players, absolutely love it, and the talent we saw with the German players. It’s great to watch. But my goodness, when you’re playing football at this level you’ve got to hit people. Hit them properly, aggressively, in the right way.
“It’s no good talking after the game, ‘we had a gameplan’, it’s rubbish. Andy Robertson, it’s all just rubbish coming out. You knew before that game what was at stake.”
Robertson said Scotland would take a day “to be angry at ourselves” before turning their attention to Group A encounters against Switzerland and Hungary, with a swift response needed if Steve Clarke’s side are to maintain hope of reaching the knockout stages.
However, Keane responded: “’We’ll regroup and be angry tomorrow’ - no, you should be angry for a long time. They spoke before the game about creating history.
“They’re creating history alright, by playing as badly as that and letting their managers and supporters down.”
