Germany 5-1 Scotland (Wirtz 10’, Musiala 19’, Havertz 45+1’ pen, Fullkrug 68’, Can 90+3’ | Rudiger OG 87′) Scotland did not come to Germany to be patted on the head and patronised, so the reaction of the Tartan Army to Antonio Rudiger’s late own goal should cut Steve Clarke every bit as deep as Toni Kroos’s post-match dismissal of his team as a “level below” Group A rivals Hungary. Rudiger’s inadvertent deflection at 4-0 down was greeted with an ecstatic response from Scotland fans, who spent most of the game in a daze at the timidity of their team’s performance. But the cheers felt a bit forced, a notch or two down from the ferocity of the wall of noise generated pre-match.
Clarke is a serious football man and the forced jollity was in stark contrast to the genuine pride he has brought back to the national team set-up in his five years in charge. Read Next German beer, zip lines and pricey pretzels: My day at a Euro 2024 fanzone Of course the Tartan Army were brilliant guests, patient even as Munich surprisingly struggled to cope with the full scale of their friendly invasion. The fan park – queue time for beer or a Bratwurst was inexplicably an hour or more – had to close at one point on Friday and the U-bahn failed spectacularly but there was never a hint of trouble or Scottish snarling.
Of course there wasn’t, there never is. Turning up for a singsong and a drink is part of the appeal of travelling but this should also be a serious Scotland s.