On Friday, June 14, host country Germany will open the European Championship against Scotland. The Germans need to reaffirm their status as a top team, as the popularity of Die Mannschaft has been waning in recent years. For Scotland, it’s a significant opportunity to finally reach the final round, something they have never achieved before. Read more information here about the first match of the 2024 European Championship.
Germany – Scotland
These countries have faced each other 17 times in total, and their last encounter was in the European Championship qualifiers in 2015. Scotland then lost 3-2 to the then-world champions Germany. Thomas Müller put the Germans ahead twice, but the Scots came back each time. James McArthur equalized the first time, and the second goal was an own goal by Mats Hummels. The decisive goal came early in the second half from Ilkay Gündogan.
Overall, Scotland has won four out of 17 matches. Germany has won eight times, and they have drawn five times. On paper, Germany has a better chance of winning. However, every match must be played, and Die Mannschaft needs to find their confidence again. Scotland also has a good chance to make a strong impact in this European Championship.
Germany
In 2018, Germany was chosen as the host country for this European Championship. At that time, there were only two officially confirmed bids: Germany and Turkey. Germany won the secret ballot with 12 points, 8 points ahead of Turkey. As the host country, Die Mannschaft automatically qualified for the group stage of this European Championship. In preparation for the tournament, they played against Ukraine and Greece. The Germans drew against Ukraine but won 2-1 against Greece.
In recent years, the German team has struggled. At the World Cup in Qatar, the Germans were eliminated in the group stage, in a group with Japan and Spain. The coach at that time, Hansi Flick, became the first German national team coach to be fired. After the World Cup, it continued to be difficult, with defeats against Japan, Turkey, and Austria. However, Germany did manage to win against France and the Netherlands. The quality is thus very inconsistent, making it difficult to predict how the Germans will perform in this tournament.
The new coach, Julian Nagelsmann, has brought back the experienced Toni Kroos for this tournament. He performed very well in the match against France, regaining confidence in his homeland. Florian Wirtz also did the same. The young German helped “eternal second” Bayer Leverkusen to a Bundesliga title and could be crucial for the German team. Additionally, names like Manuel Neuer, Antonio Rüdiger, and Kai Havertz are part of the German squad. Together with Kroos, this forms a core with a lot of experience.
Scotland
The Scots have never progressed beyond the group stage in a major tournament. Therefore, their immediate goal at this European Championship is to do so. They qualified from a group with Spain and Norway, two strong teams. Expectations were thus suddenly high.
Those expectations were tempered when the Scots then went seven matches without a win. The defeats against France, England, the Netherlands, and Spain are understandable, but they especially struggled with the loss to Northern Ireland. The Scots also apparently still need some confidence, which they want to achieve with the right players. To prepare for the European Championship, they played against Gibraltar and Finland. Gibraltar was defeated relatively easily 2-0, but the Scots could only manage a draw against Finland.
The danger for the Scots will mainly come from the left flank. With Andrew Robertson, left-back at Liverpool, and Kieran Tierney, left-back at Real Sociedad, there are opportunities on that side. The question remains who will score the goals. They don’t have a top striker, and their biggest talent, Ben Doak, suffered a severe knee injury at Liverpool in December. Coach Steve Clarke has called him up, which means there are expectations from him. The same can certainly be said for Scott McTominay and John McGinn, two midfielders from Manchester United and Aston Villa, respectively, who have both shown themselves to be very productive this season.
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