Germany, the host country of Euro 2024, beat Scotland 5-1 this Friday in Munich. Putting the finishing touch on the playing field to an exciting and festive opening day of the tournament, they paid tribute to the German legend Franz Beckenbauer, who died on January 7th. Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala soon led to a blowout with which Germany sends a strong message to its rivals.
An opening match to remember for Germany 🇩🇪#EURO2024 | #GERSCO pic.twitter.com/luXAFwUS1E
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) June 14, 2024
A comfortable victory that started early for the Eurocup host
Wirtz, one of the sensations of the season in the Bundesliga, only took 10 minutes to score the first goal of the championship, bringing the Munich Arena to its feet with a goal that makes him the youngest German player to score in a European Championship at 21 years old. The Bayer Leverkusen player first executed a pass from Joshua Kimmich to put the 'Mannschaft' ahead, leaving the festive Scotland fans speechless.
Musiala, also 21 years old and named MVP of the match, extended the lead 9 minutes later, assisted by Kai Havertz. Arsenal's own attacking midfielder scored the third goal from the penalty spot, after a tough tackle by Scotsman Ryan Porteous on Watford center-back Ilkay Gundogan.
Toni Kroos shined in one of his last games as a player
Veteran Niclas Füllkrug also scored, the 31-year-old scoring Germany's fourth goal (68) after a great collective action in the rival area. Another of the veterans, the eternal Toni Kroos, led his team's game from the center of the field, in what will be his last tournament before hanging up his boots. The midfielder was applauded by the entire stadium when he was replaced in the second half (80) by Emre Can, scorer of the fifth goal (90+3, 5-1).
What a strike, Niclas Füllkrug! 😲🚀#EUROGOTT | @AlipayPlus pic.twitter.com/8zekWKPVzZ
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) June 14, 2024
The victory also comes in a context of urgency for the Mannschaft, eliminated in the group stage of the last two World Cups (2018 and 2022) and defeated in round 16 of the last Euro Cup, in 2021. But despite the bulk of the result, the path to the second round for the hosts will not be easy, since there are still two more complicated a priori matches for Germany: Hungary, on June 19 in Stuttgart, and Switzerland, on the 23rd in Frankfurt.
