Three observations from Germany’s lopsided 5-1 win over Scotland to kick off EURO 2024

Germany kicked off the EURO 2024 tournament with plenty of fireworks by thrashing an overwhelmed Scotland squad with a score of 5-1. Florian Wirtz (Leverkusen) opened the scoring line in the 10th minute on a one-timer at the top of the box, assisted by a perfectly weighted pass from Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich.

Nine minutes later, İlkay Gündoğan threaded a pass through the Scottish backline to Kai Havertz, who abstained from scoring to let Jamal Musiala drill a shot into the roof of the net. Gündoğan took a nasty challenge from Ryan Porteous, which resulted in a red card, to allow Havertz to convert a penalty kick right before halftime.

Niclas Füllkrug subbed on for Havertz in the 63rd minute and five minutes later, Füllkrug ripped a right-footed rocket (110 km/h!) that somehow didn’t burn a hole through the net. With no time to spare, Emre Can curled in a goal to put the icing on the cake.

Germany’s young guns came out a-blazin’

Wirtz and Musiala wasted no time attacking the Scottish defense vertically, horizontally, diagonally, and from a fourth dimension that renowned physicists still haven’t discovered. Wirtz became the youngest German to ever score at the EUROs at 21 years old, only a couple months younger than Musiala.

Both of these players will be the key to unlocking each defense this tournament. If they can stay healthy and in good form, Germany might become the first host country to win the tournament since France in 1984.

How long will this formation win EURO matches?

Scotland will most likely be the least challenging opponent for the Germans this summer. The next match against Hungary should be another one-sided affair. Switzerland presents a unique challenge to close out the group stage, and the knockout rounds have proven unpredictable in recent tournaments.

The center-back duo of Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid) and Jonathan Tah (Leverkusen) are very formidable, only yielding a single wayward shot late in the match. The own goal in the 87th minute looked like a video game glitch and can be ignored for the time being.

Germany’s midfield has some vulnerabilities in the counterattack due to a lack of overall speed. Germany should expect to dominate possession each game, but will need to continue to minimize mistakes.

Julian Nagelsmann’s greatest strength is his tactical acumen. He will need to continue to pull the right strings, but he passed his first test with flying colors.

Leroy Sané’s woes are endless

Leroy Sané (Bayern Munich) has only scored one goal since October, and he showed nothing tonight to suggest that would be changing any time soon. The rest of the German squad played free flowing football, attacking with ease and defending with ferocity.

Conversely, Sané struggled to get the ball out of his feet, lost the ball five times, and took three toothless shots. Nagelsmann should be applauded for giving Sané enough quality time to find his footing, but it might be time to shelf him for the summer and give those minutes to a player who can contribute to this tournament.

Looking for more thoughts and analysis on Germany’s massive EURO 2024-opening win over Scotland? Good, because the Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show has you covered! We’ve got takes on Julian Nagelsmann’s lineup, the brilliance of Toni Kroos, Germany’s relentless attack, and why Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala are probably winning over a lot of new fans. You can get the podcast on Spotify or below: