Germany hammer Scotland after Ryan Porteous is sent off for horror tackle

The European Championship of 2024 is one month long across 10 German cities although Scotland’s ambition does not extend much further than still being in contention come Thursday morning, when they could yet be preparing for a forlorn exit.

How long were they a viable force in this tournament opener against the hosts? One might say conservatively, 20 minutes, although others would argue much less. The noise of thousands of Scottish fans in the corner of Munich’s great football stadium made the prologue to this game compelling and by half-time there was little more to be heard from them than the occasional mournful toot of the bagpipe.

Perhaps, the warning was there when Sir Alex Ferguson addressed his fellow countrymen in a pre-recorded video before the game and told them to enjoy themselves, whatever the result. If that was a sign that the most relentlessly competitive manager in the history of British football sensed this task was beyond Scotland, then it did not take long for him to be proved correct.

By the break Scotland were three goals down and one man short after the dismissal of Ryan Porteous for a tackle so bad it might have been an arrestable offence if committed in Munich city centre. The Watford centre-half’s two-footed assault on Ilkay Gundogan was evidence of the panic in the Scottish side who seemed to sense that the Germans might score with every attack.

Steve Clarke had opted to start without Billy Gilmour in midfield and the defensive configuration he had established crumbled within 10 minutes when Florian Wirtz swept in the first. The less said about Clarke’s goalkeeper Angus Gunn on that occasion, the better, and things gradually went downhill from there for the former England Under-21 international.

Clarke will no doubt catch some heat for leaving out one of his more talented assets, Gilmour, who played 30 Premier League games for Brighton this season. Yet this was one of those mismatches that are not uncommon in international tournaments when one side rises to the occasion and the other does not. In Cologne on Wednesday, Scotland face Switzerland and they will be playing for their lives in a tournament they fought so hard to reach in qualification.

In truth, Germany should have scored many more. Scotland had just one meaningful attack, in the 87th minute and that was substitute Scott McKenna’s header that clipped Antonio Rudiger and deceived Manuel Neuer. Scotland managed to emerge with a goal despite not having a single attempt either on target or off. Germany, by contrast, managed 19 of which 10 were on the Scotland goal.

It is hard to say just what kind of force Germany might be at this championship although some nerves in Julian Nagelsmann’s squad will be steadied. Germany’s No 10, Jamal Musiala, the scorer of the second goal, is a phenomenal talent and against Scotland’s collection of Premier League, Scottish top-flight and lower league parts, the young man was unstoppable.

So too the old boys Gundogan and Toni Kroos although they were not put under the kind of pressure that better opponents might exert. In what was best described as a terse post-match press conference, some of Steve Clarke’s answers were shorter than a few of the German squad’s surnames. The Scotland manager said his side were better than their performance suggested.

He denied there had been a touchline fallout with Austin MacPhee, his set-piece coach, and deflected questions about Gilmour’s omission. In truth the failing had been so comprehensive there was little he could say. Scotland’s 5-4-1 system was always a likely approach given the array of talent against them and the home advantage wielded by the Germans. Yet never did weight of defensive numbers look so ineffective.

Instead Germany played in between the Scottish lines. Musiala and Gundogan opened their opposition up repeatedly. They occupied spaces the Scottish defenders did not fancy drifting into. Deeper, and far away from the Scottish lines, Kroos orchestrated the attacks and he was spoilt for choice a lot of the time.

The Bayer Leverkusen wunderkind Wirtz scored the first from Joshua Kimmich’s cutback. Kroos’ ball had started that move with a switch of the play and Germany were off and running after ten minutes. Norwich-born Gunn, son of Bryan, should have saved the shot and immediately one could sense the Scottish confidence ebbing already.

There was a brilliant second goal from Germany nine minutes later when Gundogan spun in midfield and passed forward. Kai Havertz cut back and Musiala stepped into the pocket of space, dropped a shoulder and drilled one into the top corner. Musiala, like Gunn also a former England Under-21, looked to be operating on another level.

Chaos in Scotland’s defence. They first escaped a penalty on 25 minutes when Ryan Christie’s foul on Musiala was adjudged to have been outside the box on VAR review. Then came that dreadful Porteous challenge. For the last few moments he spent in the bowl of the stadium he had to wait while they opened the trapdoor that led to the subterranean dressing rooms. A descent into the proverbial hell? That, in reality, was on the pitch, where his 10en remaining colleagues might have wished for the ground to open up and swallow them. Havertz scored the penalty.

Clarke substituted Che Adams at half-time and it was a case after that of hoping for the best. Clarke’s best players John McGinn and Andy Robertson were hardly in the game. The substitute Niclas Füllkrug twice had the ball in the net  although the second was fractionally offside on VAR review. After Rudiger’s own goal, a late fifth from substitute Emre Can brought the rout to a close.

Germany 5 Scotland 1: as it happened

10:31 PM BST

Steve Clarke speaks to ITV

Germany were outstanding and we couldn’t match them unfortunately.

The first halfran away from us very quickly and we couldn’t get a foothold. Defensively we weren’t very good and with the ball we weren’t very good.

We were manful in the second half, we managed to nick a goal and are very disappointed to concede the fifth

Four points is the target, I’ve said that all along. We’ve got that ahead of us.

It’s all about a reaction, let’s see how we react. We didn’t get any tonight, so we’ll need four points from two games.

10:19 PM BST

Listen: Utter humiliation

10:12 PM BST

Meanwhile in Berlin

10:10 PM BST

Full-time verdict

It was with much sorrow that Scotland’s players trudged off the Munich pitch, after what could only be described as a schooling. They converged on this stadium a joyful throng but left it a weary, ragtag army, with their team’s deficiencies thrown into the sharpest relief by Germany. The hosts, shrugging off a succession of disappointments at major tournaments, looked not just but revived under Julian Nagelsmann, putting five goals past a hapless Angus Gunn. There was little dignity in defeat either for Scotland, with Ryan Porteous shown a straight red for a scandalously high challenge on Ilkay Gundogan. Three years they have waited for this moment, and they could be out in just five more days.

10:09 PM BST

Andy Robertson talks to ITV

10:04 PM BST

Roy Keane on Scotland

The difference in quality was chalk and cheese. They were out of their depth. They got bodies back but they weren’t doing their jobs. They said they wanted to make history. They’re making history all right ...

09:59 PM BST

Full time: Germany 5 Scotland 1

Germany have marmalised Scotland, dishing out an old-fashioned gubbing, playing them off the park and giving the host country a reason to fall back in love with a team that has disappointed them for the past eight years.

Scotland still have Hungary and Switzerland to play and four points would almost certainly be good enough, possible three. But they will have to raise their game considerably even against two sides who aren’t as slick as Germany.

09:54 PM BST

GOAL!

Germany 5 Scotland 1 (Can)  Blimey! He was called up only on Wednesday when Pavlich was injured and now the Dortmund captain scores with a right-foot shot into the bottom right from the left of the D, wrapping his instep around it.  Gunn again got a hand to it but tipped it inside the post. Scotland were too slow out to Can and he was allowed to pick his spot.

09:54 PM BST

90+2 min: Germany 4 Scotland 1

Germany play keepball for a couple of minutes, horse-shoeing the ball from side to side via the central defenders.

09:53 PM BST

90 min: Germany 4 Scotland 1

We’re going to have three minutes of stoppage time.

09:51 PM BST

Goal stands

Germany 4 Scotland 1 (Rudiger og)  Free-kick on the left from Robertson that hits Fullkrug and is diverted to McKenna beyond the back post. He tries to head it back across goal but strikes Rudiger on the back of the head and just as he twisted his neck which gave it the power to loop over Neuer.

Giant swathes of red have begun to appear in the Scottish end of the stadium, a reflection of how violently this evening has veered off script. The exit of these fans was premature, it turned out, with Scott McKenna’s header across goal turned in by Antonio Rudiger. It is the first shot on Manuel Neuer’s goal all night, and it does not even come courtesy of a Scotsman. Not that the thousands in navy care much, now that they have some consolation to cheer. “You’re not singing any more,” they cry at the home fans, the irony intact amid the misery.

09:49 PM BST

GOAL!? VAR check

Germany 4 Scotland 1 (Rudiger og)  

09:48 PM BST

85 min: Germany 4 Scotland 0

Sane again has a pot shot from distance but the ball sails over the bar. Gunn, understandably, takes some time before restarting with his goal-kick.

09:47 PM BST

83 min: Germany 4 Scotland 0

Sane is fed in the inside-right channel and loops a shot straight down Gunn’s throat.

The speed of the decision with the minimum of delay is excellent – the goal was correctly ruled out for offside. Sadly we will not see the semi-automated offside system until several weeks into the new season.

09:44 PM BST

81 min: Germany 4 Scotland 0

Scotland make another change:

Shankland ⇢ Chrsitie.

“Respect everyone, fear no one”: this had been Steve Clarke’s mantra ahead of Scotland’s daunting opener. Well, his team are playing as if they have plenty to fear now, retreating ever deeper to prevent utter humiliation. Niklas Fullkrug is the latest to add to the torment, leathering an explosive strike into the top-right corner. It was recorded at 68.9mph, and Angus Gunn was powerless as the ball flashed by him. This has been a consummate exhibition, with Jamal Musiala roundly applauded as he comes off for Thomas Muller.

09:43 PM BST

79 min: Germany 4 Scotland 0

Germany waste a good opportunity when Muller, instead of going for goal with his head from 12 yards, tries to loop it on to Kimmich.

Kroos picks out Mittelstadt on the half-volley again from the corner and once again he lashes his effort over rthe bar.

Can ⇢ Kroos.

09:40 PM BST

77 min: Germany 4 Scotland 0

And the semi-automated VAR system again beats the Premier League’s system to the punch, confirming in seconds what it usually takes Stockley Park to come up with in minutes.

McKenna ⇢ Tierney.

09:38 PM BST

VAR check for a Fullkrug ‘goal’

Offside. No goal.

He met the cross from the left by chesting it down, shooting and then pouncing when Gunn could only slap it up and behind him to roll it into the goal. But he was offside when the cross was hit.

09:37 PM BST

73 min: Germany 4 Scotland 0

Here comes the Raumdeuter:

Muller ⇢ Musiala (who departs to a standing ovation).

Germany score their fourth goal and it is refreshing to see that we are not having to wait for a long VAR check,

Celebration of the goal not suppressed by the VAR check.

09:34 PM BST

71 min: Germany 4 Scotland 0

Grant Hanley inflates his cheeks, exhales deeply and shakes his head. It’s all a bit much for Scotland tonight. It has been a proper pasting from start to now.

09:30 PM BST

GOAL!

Germany 4 Scotland 0 (Fullkrug) Screamer! What a move. Sensational. Musiala and Gundogan combine down the left again and centre to Fullkrug who traps the low cross, lets it bounce and then cuts his foot across a half-volley from 18 yards that flies into the top right corner.

09:29 PM BST

68 min: Germany 3 Scotland 0

Double Scotland substitution:

Gilmour ⇢ McGregor

McLean ⇢ McGinn.

09:28 PM BST

67 min: Germany 3 Scotland 0

Germany corner which is delayed for a lecture to McGinn and Rudiger who had been grappling. Kroos picks out Mittelstadt 20 yards out and he smashes a half-volley over the bar.

09:27 PM BST

65 min: Germany 3 Scotland 0

There is a vivid clash of styles in evidence in this second half, with Germany’s waves of fluid attack in stark contrast to Scotland’s desperate, agricultural tackling. So ragged are Steve Clarke’s defenders that even Antonio Rudiger fancies his luck from distance, with his low effort only just tipped wide by Angus Gunn. Even by the standards of Scottish failures at major tournaments, this has been a catalogue of horrors. The only sound from their fans now is of a lone bagpiper playing Flower of Scotland, a defiant anthem rendered a funereal lament.

09:26 PM BST

64 min: Germany 3 Scotland 0

Sane almost immediately charges down the right after Scotland give the ball away from their free-kick but the Bayern winger messes up his feet when he shapes to shoot, scuffing it with his left and giving Gunn time to flop on top of it.

09:25 PM BST

62 min: Germany 3 Scotland 0

Booking for Tah for a late challenge on Christie, coming on from the side as the Scotland forward tried to shield it, back to goal.

Double Germany substitution:

Sane ⇢ Wirtz

Fullkrug ⇢ Havertz.

09:22 PM BST

60 min: Germany 3 Scotland 0

Musiala is devouring Ralston on toast, mesmerising with his dribbling and feints. Having beaten him, he fizzes over another cross that Gunn knocks out with a foot and McGregor makes a fine and vital block to stop Gundogan’s goal-bound shot from 10 yards.

60 minutes into the game and we are witnessing how much better VAR is operating in Europe.

The leadership, direction delivered by Uefa managing director of refereeing Roberto Rossetti is the benchmark that the PGMOL must aspire to.

Germany’s Tah correctly yellow carded for a reckless challenge.

09:20 PM BST

58min: Germany 3 Scotland 0

Good chance for Wirtz at the back post on the half-volley when Musiala’s cross is whipped over from the left. Robertson leaves Wirtz to challenge Havertz for the header so when the ball falls to the Leverkusen forward he has a clear path to goal but he can’t get his knee over it and hammers it over the bar.

09:19 PM BST

56 min: Germany 3 Scotland 0

Wirtz plays the corner short to Gross to shoot from 20 yards but a blue shirt was alert to it and raced out to block.

09:18 PM BST

54 min: Germany 3 Scotland 0

Germany fans run through their clapping repertoire. Scotland fans, it has to be said, have fallen silent. Christie is penalised for a foul on Tah but I don’t think he touched him. Ralston turns the free-kick behind for a corner.

09:16 PM BST

52 min: Germany 3 Scotland 0

McGinn and Christie press Germany’s back four from left and right and McGregor tries to come through the middle to make three but the back five urge him to come back. We’re in damage limitation territory now.

09:13 PM BST

50 min: Germany 3 Scotland 0

Scotland, caught between two stools without a forward to press from the front, allow Rudiger to stroll through to 25 yards a thump a shot that was shaping away from goal but Gunn had to deal with and he pushes it round the post.

The referee team led by Clement Turpin will be happy with their first half performance.

The referee will maintain tight control of proceedings having discussed with his colleagues a quick run through of the big decisions,

Scotland player correctly issued with a yellow card early in the second half.

09:11 PM BST

48 min: Germany 3 Scotland 0

Ralston is booked for a clumsy foul on Musiala whose dazzling feet threatened to diddle him. A minute before Scotland had a free-kick wide on the left that McTominay whipped to the near post. Havertz sees it clear.

Forgot to say Nagelsmann also made a change, possibly because of his first-half booking:

Gross ⇢ Andrich.

09:09 PM BST

46 min: Germany 3 Scotland 0

Ally McCoist encourages Scotland to play for pride as they come out.

Hanley ⇢ Adams

They switch to 5-4-0. It’s Craig Levein time all over again!

09:07 PM BST

Half-time verdict

Even on paper, it was not a fair contest: Ryan Porteous of Watford against Ilkay Gundogan, the superstar of Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City and Barcelona. In the flesh, the mismatch was even more brutal, with the Scottish centre-half launching into a disgraceful, potentially leg-breaking challenge on the Germany captain. You could tell its severity from the reaction of the German substitutes, all of whom pleaded with referee Clement Turpin to change his mind. He did more than this once he had seen the monitors, sending Porteous off. It capped 45 minutes of abject misery for the Scots, whose fans arrived here fortified by hours of Marienplatz drinking but who looked ready to call it a night by half-time. This could be 5-0 or worse yet.

09:04 PM BST

Scottish solution?

Can’t think of anything they can truly achieve with 10 men but Gilmour ought to come on for McGregor who has been too slow and see if Shankland can hold the ball up better than Adams. Gunn was at fault for the first and I’m not sure if he could have caught Gundogan’s header rather than parrying it which led to Porteous’s desperate lunge and red card.

08:53 PM BST

Half-time: Germany 3 Scotland 0

Well. No succour for Scotland at all. They’ve been properly outclassed by a side that will restore a country’s affection for it if they carry on in this vein.

True, Scotland have been shambolic, but it is hard to overstate Germany’s improvement on this evidence from the 2022 World Cup. In Qatar they were a dysfunctional rabble, with arguments in team meetings and players turning on Hansi Flick for his dogmatic approach. His successor Julian Nagelsmann, just 36, has injected fresh vibrancy into every department of their play. You can see him imploring his team for more even as Scotland cry out for mercy, and his efforts are repaid when Ryan Porteous makes a dreadful challenge on Ilkay Gundogan to concede a penalty. Porteous deservedly sees red.

08:48 PM BST

GOAL!

Germany 3 Scotland 0 (Havertz, pen) Stutter run-up, sits Gunn down to the keeper’s left and then he sweeps it down the middle.

08:47 PM BST

Had to be red

It was a reckless foul. He may have slipped but the impact was sickening and Gundogan is struggling. Which means Havertz will take the pen.

Uefa made it very clear that they would clamp down on dangerous tackles. Scotland can have no complaints. The challenge was worthy of a penalty kick the challenge endangered the safety of an opponent.

08:46 PM BST

VAR penalty check and possible red card for Porteous

He plants his studs into Gundogan’s ankle with his left leg as he scrambled desperately to stop Gundogan knocking the ball into the net.

A great run from Musiala, real swagger, and stands the cross up for Gundogan whose header is parried by Gunn and then Gundogan is knobbled by Porteous as he tried to leap into the fray.

PENALTY awarded. And Porteous is sent off.

08:41 PM BST

38 min: Germany 2 Scotland 0

Scotland have a free-kick five yards into the Germany half. McTominay chips a long diagonal to the left of the box. Porteous wins the header and tees it up to the 18-yard line but there are three white shirts there and they bundle the ball upfield and away from danger.

08:40 PM BST

36 min: Germany 2 Scotland 0

Hendrie, playing in the middle of the back three, has seen a lot of the ball in the past few minutes but there are so few options for him he gives it to Porteous who gives him it back. Rinse and repeat until Porteous launches a pass up the right that bypasses Ralston and Adams before Neuer gobbles it up.

08:36 PM BST

34 min: Germany 2 Scotland 0

Christie tries to trigger a counter with a tackle on Kroos but he is judged to have kicked his foot before he robbed the ball.

08:36 PM BST

32 min: Germany 2 Scotland 0

Scotland have no one to pass the ball out to when they have it at the back so they pump it long and lose it.

Scotland could hardly have scripted a grislier opening act. It was almost embarrassing how much time and space Jamal Musiala had on the edge of the area, shifting the ball out of his feet before smashing the ball beyond the helpless Angus Gunn. Yawning gaps had been appearing all over the pitch, with Kai Havertz repeatedly looking to latch on to the ball in behind. It was not before time that he took his cue, unleashing Musiala to wreak havoc. It looked as if the agonies might be compounded when Germany were awarded a penalty, but Ryan Christie’s foul on Musiala took place outside the box.

08:33 PM BST

30 min: Germany 2 Scotland 0

Yellow card for Andrich for a sliding tackle on McTominay in which he wins the ball then saws him off at the ankles with his trailing leg.

08:32 PM BST

28 min: Germany 2 Scotland 0

Scotland are wobbling here and looking at a cricket score if their midfield doesn’t get a grip. The match may be lost but goal difference will be crucial if they finish third.

08:30 PM BST

26 min: Germany 2 Scotland 0

Kroos lines up the free-kick. McGinn is the draught excluder. The wall splits with the three Germans peeling off and Havertz hits the free-kick through the gap but strikes a Scotland heel and the ball bobbles safely through to Gunn.

08:29 PM BST

It’s a free-kick not a penalty

Inches from the 18-yard line where Christie kicked Musiala’s right leg before Tierney booted his left ankle.

The referee delayed his decision on the penalty kick initially. Then pointed to the mark

VAR reviewed the decision and correctly awarded a free kick to Germany the offence outside the area,

We then witnessed how only the Captain is allowed to talk to the referee.

It worked very well

08:28 PM BST

VAR check

Christie fouls him outside the box and Tierney inside.

08:27 PM BST

Germany penalty!

Musiala is brought down by Tierney who kicks his ankle after Christie catches him just outside the box.

Two down and looking grim for Scotland after 20 minutes. They are 5-4-1 out of possession - which is most of the time. One major problem is the low block gives a lot of space to Toni Kroos to get on the ball. That said, not much can be done when Ilkay Gundogan spins like he did in midfield. The finish from Jamal Musiala was brilliant too. Germans are in great form.

08:26 PM BST

22 min: Germany 2 Scotland 0

The worst possible start for Scotland against a very good side. Gundogan and Kroos are a class apart in midfield and Scotland’s midfield can’t cope.

08:21 PM BST

GOAL!

Germany 2 Scotland 0 (Musiala)  Lovely move, exploiting the gap between the back five and the midfield four. Gundogan invades that space and spins a fine pass out to Havertz on the left of the box. Ralston can’t get tight enough and the Arsenal forward feigns to line up a shot then slips it to Musiala 15 yards out and he judges the shot perfectly, rifling it unstoppably into the roof of the net.

08:21 PM BST

18 min: Germany 1 Scotland 0

Wirtz pushes forward and then circles back to spring again, catching Robertson and Tierney chasing shadows and it takes Gunn to race out and hoof it away to clear the danger.

08:20 PM BST

16 min: Germany 1 Scotland 0

Scotland snap into the press high up, forcing Neuer to put his boot through the ball, whacking it high up the right for a throw. Scotland work it back to Porteous who goes long, up to Adams, but the ball bounces off him as he is challenged by Tah and Germany regain possession which they are currently dominating 77-23 per cent.

Refreshing to witness a speedy check by VAR team on Germany first goal.

08:18 PM BST

14 min: Germany 1 Scotland 0

Scotland’s problems stem from basically retreating into a 5-4-1 without the ball which allows Germany’s full-backs to bomb on as they have no wingers or marauding full-backs to worry about. Kimmich was in tons of space between Robertson and Christie.

Scotland fans rally the troops with Flower of Scotland.

That makes 20 goals and 22 assists for Florian Wirtz in a stellar season for club and country. The Bayer Leverkusen midfielder’s latest masterstroke flowed from a sumptuous crossfield ball by Toni Kroos, allowed by Scotland’s low block to do essentially as he pleased. Kimmich squared to Wirtz, whose low shot wriggled in at the far post, off Angus Gunn’s outstretched hand. This was a nightmare in slow motion for the Scottish fans massed three storeys high behind Gunn’s goal. Having drowned out for the home supporters for volume in the hours before kick-off, they have now virtually fallen silent.

08:12 PM BST

GOAL!

Germany 1 Scotland 0 (Wirtz)  Kroos hits a diagonal out to the right from his own half, the ball dipping perfectly into Kimmich’s path. He whips over a low cross to the D and Wirtz steers a shot first time towards the bottom left. Gunn gets a hand on it and only succeeds in slapping it on to the post. Needed a stronger writs there. Nice strike, sweetly struck but it was hardly a bullet.

08:11 PM BST

9 min: Germany 0 Scotland 0

Mistake by Ralston to overrun the ball on the right when Scotland had tigerishly won it back off Havertz and were trying to break. It forces Scotland to defend a couple of crosses, which they do but Germany proceed to lay siege for a minute or so.

08:09 PM BST

7 min: Germany 0 Scotland 0

Germany break but Hendry reads the run, stays deep and makes the challenge.

08:08 PM BST

5 min: Germany 0 Scotland 0

Noticeable that Kroos is dropping in to make three at the back with Mittelstadt pushed high up the left and Kimmich tucking into centre midfield. Good tackle by Tierney stops Musiala and then Robertson charges forward but can only earn a throw which Rudiger heads out.

08:06 PM BST

3 min: Germany 0 Scotland 0

Steve Clarke is on his feet as Scotland move into Germany’s half for the first time but Christie cannot trap a long throw and McGinn is penalised for a push as he went up to try to retrieve possession in an aerial duel. McGinn pulls a face at the referee but says nothing.

08:04 PM BST

1 min: Germany 0 Scotland 0

Germany kick off and attack from right to left, building patiently, shifting the ball up the left until Mittelstadt cuts back inside, retreats and switches the ball to Kimmich on the right. He chips a long diagonal over Scotland’s defence to Wirtz to go one on one with Gunn but Ralston, though he triggered the trap alarmingly late, catches him offside.

08:02 PM BST

Right all ready?

Germany in white and Scotland in blue with yellow trim. Both kits feature busy shorts.

07:59 PM BST

Resounding rendition of the anthems

Flower of Scotland was extraordinarily loud … as is Deutschlandlied.

07:57 PM BST

Out come the teams

A very low-key, inoffensive opening ceremony of flags, dancers, dry ice and a few explosions. Compared to previous efforts it looked pretty frugal. Maybe we are entering a new era where the requirement for the proverbial dancing elephants and grand theatre is behind us. If so it’s very much to be welcomed. This was a school assembly vibe and then - let’s get on with the football. What they do with the inflatable Henri Delaunay Trophy is up to them. Maybe just release it to float gently upwards.

07:55 PM BST

Heidi Beckenbauer brings on the trophy

She represents West Germany’s victory in 1972 and she is flanked by Messrs Klinsmann and Dietz, captains in 1996 and 1980.

Moving moment when Franz Beckenbauer’s widow Heidi brings out the trophy and a tribute is played to ‘Der Kaiser’ on the big screen. “We will never forget you,” says the stadium announcer. A complicated legacy, it’s fair to say, but the defining life of West German and German football.

07:51 PM BST

Out come the flags

And jets of steam. Lots of running around in concentric circles. The costumes make sense now as the various ones congregate to form footballs, flags and the tournament logo. The performers wave and blow kisses to the crowd. Now they’re waving massive flares, shooting sparks.

That was short and relatively sweet.

The players are in the tunnel.

07:46 PM BST

Time for the opening ceremony

Which begins with dancers, lots of dancers in a variety of stripes, dots, hoops and squiggles. Europop agogo.

07:42 PM BST

On the big screen

Sir Alex Ferguson currently addressing the Scotland fans on video from big screens at the stadium in Munich, in a message that was no doubt filmed Chez Fergie in front of his tartan curtains. He is also here in the stadium VIP seats. Hard enough at the best of times to hear the PA system but the Glaswegian accent drawing baffled looks from the Germans.

[And here’s Sir Alex’s message]

07:36 PM BST

Steve Clarke talks to ITV

07:29 PM BST

Billy Gilmour is on the bench

It is a major call by Steve Clarke to leave Brighton’s Billy Gilmour on the bench, instead opting to reintroduce Scott McTominay after injury. The Manchester United midfielder will partner John McGinn and Callum McGregor, while Che Adams steps in for Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland up front, by virtue of his advantage in pace. The gifted Ryan Christie of Bournemouth will be alongside him, but the challenge that Scotland confront here is ominous. That record of never having been beyond the group phase at a major finals looks precarious against a Germany side propelled by the thrilling attacking flair of Jamal Musiala.

07:22 PM BST

Today in Marienplatz

For more than 850 years, Marienplatz has been the main square of Munich. As of this week, though, it seemingly no longer belongs to the locals. This corner of Germany is unquestionably Scottish territory now, following the remarkable invasion of the blue-shirted, kilt-wearing members of the “Tartan Army”.

According to some estimates, up to 200,000 Scots – roughly four per cent of the country’s population – have travelled to Munich this week. Others have put the figure a little lower, at a more conservative 100,000. Either way, it has been an extraordinary few days in this grand old city, as Bavaria has become the scene of Scotland’s biggest footballing party in a generation.

Marienplatz is described by the locals as “the heart of Munich” but, by Friday afternoon, the square was moving to a different beat. The sound of bagpipes filled the air and the blue smoke of flares drifted through the skies as the Scottish fans prepared for their country’s opening match of the European Championship against Germany.

The local fascination with the Tartan Army was summarised by Bild, the German tabloid newspaper. “Scottish fans drink Munich dry!” screamed the headline. “Only the Scots rock like that!”

Many of the locals, it must be said, were rocking with the Scots. Across Munich, German fans in white replica shirts posed for pictures with those in blue. “It’s wonderful,” one German supporter in Marienplatz told the Telegraph. “Everyone is so friendly. I have never seen this for an international game.”

07:17 PM BST

Tonight’s referee

Is Clément Turpin, who has the misfortune of being French, unfortunate in that he is unlikely to referee the closing stages of World Cups and Euros. You will have seen him in plenty of Champions League action, notably the 2022 final between Liverpool and Real Madrid at Stade de France and the 2021 Europa League final between Man Utd and Villarreal. Rio Ferdinand once accused him of being overly theatrical, someone who wanted to make the game ‘all about him’. Pots and kettles spring to mind.

07:11 PM BST

The two teams

07:03 PM BST

Scotland line up 3-4-2-1

Gunn (Norwich); Hendry (Al-Ettifaq), Porteous (Watford), Tierney (Arsenal); Ralston (Celtic), McTominay (Manchester United), McGregor* (Celtic), Robertson (Liverpool); Christie (Bournemouth), McGinn (Aston Villa); Adams (Southampton).

* Apologies for having Gilmour in original post.

06:57 PM BST

Germany line up in a 4-2-3-1

Neuer (Bayern Munich); Kimmich (Bayern), Rudiger (Real Madrid), Tah (Bayer Leverkusen), Mittelstadt (Stuttgart); Kroos (Real Madrid), Andrich (Leverkusen); Musiala (Bayern Munich), Gundogan (Barcelona), Wirz (Leverkusen); Havertz (Arsenal).

06:54 PM BST

Germany as predicted

06:40 PM BST

Ally McCoist is in the stadium

06:35 PM BST

And here’s the ‘Sir’ from Yes Sir, I Can Boogie

06:34 PM BST

No Scotland, no party

06:30 PM BST

Having a bet on tonight’s match?

It all kicks off tonight and the Tartan Army have the chance to cause the hosts a big upset. Take a look at these Euro 2024 betting offers to find free bets to use on the game.

06:25 PM BST

Opening ceremony is a tribute to Beckenbauer

Tonight’s opening ceremony will be a tribute to Franz Beckenbauer who died in January at the age of 78. Heidi, the widow of the captain of West Germany’s Euro 72 and 1974 World Cup-winning sides and manager of the 1990 World Cup winners, will be joined by Euro 96-winning captain Jürgen Klinsmann and his Euro 80 West Germany counterpart Bernd Dietz in the party carrying the Henri Delaunay trophy on to the field.

05:56 PM BST

What do you think the score will be?

I’ve gone for a 2-0 home win.

05:54 PM BST

Singing Ho ho ho Subbuteo

05:45 PM BST

Scotland’s centre-forward dilemma

Without the injured Lyndon Dykes, Steve Clarke will have chosen between Hearts’ Lawrence Shankland, who has scored 48 goals in the last two Premiership seasons and scored against Finland at Hampden seven days ago, and Southampton’s Che Adams, who scored in the victory over Gibraltar and contributed 16 goals to Southampton’s promotion campaign.

05:28 PM BST

Buy shares in face paint

05:17 PM BST

What does Thom Gibbs make of tonight’s sartorial clash?

05:03 PM BST

A popular Scotland fan hits town

Sam Dean has spotted Ilyich, a Russian terrier and very popular Scotland fan, being embraced by William Wallace in front of a pretzel van. Now there’s a sentence that will never be written again.

04:52 PM BST

Sam Dean is our man on the ground in Munich

04:51 PM BST

Preview: Pride of the Tartan Army

Good afternoon and welcome to live coverage of the Euro 2024 opener between the hosts Germany and Scotland from Munich. The European Championship has not been kind to host nations – only France in 1984 in an epic tournament won on home soil – but only in 2008, when both Austria and Switzerland lost their first games, have the hosts been beaten since the competition mushroomed in 1980.

Germany come into the match unbeaten in 2024, having beaten France in March to start their run when Julian Nagelsmann welcomed Toni Kroos back and the team suddenly began to click with Ilkay Gundogan playing further forward and Kai Havertz coming of age in the false nine role. Scotland, by contrast, lost their March friendlies with Northern Ireland and Netherlands before beating Gibraltar and drawing with Finland this month. Having lost two and drawn one of their three previous Euro opening matches, they start this one very much as underdogs. But even if they should lose today, Steve Clarke is confident the process can still yield a first ever qualification for the knockout stages of a continental and global tournament.

“The enormity of the opener is a bit of a sideshow and hopefully we don’t get too involved in that, “ he said. “It’s a difficult game. One of the mantras I’ve always had is respect everyone and fear no one. We have respect for the host nation, we know they’re a good team but hopefully we can show everyone we’re a good team as well.

“I can enjoy it. I’ve been lucky enough to be involved in big matches, the Champions League final for example, it was nice to be involved in the last Euros. I can enjoy it, but I’ll enjoy it even more once we’ve got four points on the board.”

It is the second successive Euros for the Scots under Clarke and he said: “I think we should all be proud that we’re here. It’s been a long time since 1998 when we actually travelled abroad to appear in a tournament like this.”

And he said that the Tartan Army’s invasion of Bavaria  will “give us a big boost. They’re going to be behind us in every minute of every game and that’s really important for us. We’ve had a little taste of it already at our base in. I’m sure there will be a few around in Munich tonight that we won’t see. We hope they will enjoy themselves and behave themselves.”