Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala star as Germany kick off Euro 2024 in style
Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala were on the scoresheet as Germany kicked off the 2024 UEFA European Championship in style with a 5-1 victory over Scotland at the Allianz Arena.
Germany 5-1 Scotland
Goals: 1-0 Wirtz 10' (assist: Kimmich), 2-0 Musiala 19' (assist: Havertz), 3-0 Havertz 45'+1 (pen.), 4-0 Füllkrug 68', 4-1 Rüdiger 87' (own goal), 5-1 Can 90'+3 (assist: Müller)
Red cards: Porteous 44'
The excitement and expectation were palpable in the build-up to this curtain-raiser, and the millions of Germany fans watching on across the country, as well as the thousands in attendance in Munich, and they were not disappointed. From the off, Julian Nagelsmann's men were dominant and gave Scotland no chance to settle. Admittedly, there wasn't a plethora of chances before the break, but Germany were clinical as they found the back of the net on three occasions. First, Wirtz swept into the bottom corner inside the opening 10 minutes from the edge of the area, before Musiala finished off a swift move before the midway point of the half. On the brink of half-time, salt was rubbed into Scottish wounds as Kai Havertz buried from the penalty spot after Ryan Porteous' high challenge on İlkay Gündoğan in the area had earned him a straight red card. The host nation were initially awarded another spot-kick early in the opening period, but Ryan Christie's tackle on Musiala was narrowly outside the box.
With the numerical advantage, Germany were able to further control proceedings, keeping their opponents at arm's length as they looked to add more gloss to the scoreline. Antonio Rüdiger tried his luck from distance, forcing Angus Gunn into a low save, and Wirtz fired an effort just over the crossbar from a promising position. Substitute Leroy Sané then side-footed into Gunn's hands after being played in by Kimmich as Nagelsmann's outfit kept the pressure high. It took another replacement to net the fourth, as Niclas Füllkrug hammered an unstoppable strike into the top corner. The Borussia Dortmund striker thought he had doubled his tally as he poked over from close range, but the effort was ruled out for offside. Although Rüdiger headed into his own net late on to give Steve Clarke's side a consolation, Emre Can, a last-minute call-up to the squad to replace Aleksandar Pavlović, curled into the corner in stoppage time to restore the four-goal margin. All in all, it was a fantastic night for Die Nationalelf, who can now look forward to their second group game against Hungary on Wednesday. Scotland, meanwhile, will look to regroup ahead of their next fixture, against Switzerland, also in five days.
Watch: Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz - Germany's future
Match stats
- Wirtz is now the youngest-ever player to score for Germany at the Euros at the age of 21 years and 42 days, breaking Havertz's previous record.
- All three of Füllkrug's major tournament goals have come from the bench, a joint-European lead.
- Germany are now without a clean sheet in 13 games at major tournaments.
- Germany are the first team to score three goals in the first half of a Euros game since 1984, when France did the same against Belgium.
- Germany have won each of their last four meetings with Scotland, and haven't lost to them since a 1-0 friendly reverse back in April 1999.
- Manuel Neuer made his 35th appearance for Germany at a major tournament, surpassing Philipp Lahm (34) at the top of the all-time rankings.
Teams
Germany: Neuer - Kimmich, Rüdiger, Tah, Mittelstädt - Andrich (Groß 46') Kroos (Can 81') - Musiala (Müller 74'), Gündoğan (c), Wirtz (Sané 63)- Havertz (Füllkrug 63')
Unused subs: Anton, Baumann, Beier, Führich, Henrichs, Koch, Raum, Schlotterbeck, Ter Stegen, Undav
Coach: Julian Nagelsmann
Scotland: Gunn - Porteous, Hendry, Tierney (McKenna 77') - Ralston, McTominay, McGregor (Gilmour 67'), Robertson (c) - Christie (Shankland 82'), McGinn (McLean 67') - Adams (Hanley 46')
Unused subs: Armstrong, Clark, Conway, Cooper, Forrest, Jack, Kelly, McCrorie, Morgan, Taylor
Coach: Steve Clarke
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