European Football Championship 2024: Scotland’s footballers with completely new qualities

On Tuesday, some peace finally returned to the quarters of Germany’s opening European Championship opponents Scotland in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Apart from the serenade for midfielder Billy Gilmour on his 23rd birthday, the hustle and bustle and folklore of the first few days noticeably died down. Instead of trying to be Schuhplattler like Gilmour’s teammate John McGinn did at the reception on Sunday or in public in front of around 500 people the next day, coach Steve Clarke’s team practiced in silence on Tuesday in front of the impressive but mostly cloudy Alpine panorama at the foot of the Zugspitze .

The Scots want to use the last few days before the opening game of the European Football Championship on Friday in Munich in the small stadium of the national league team 1. FC Garmisch-Partenkirchen to concentrate on their preparation. Although host Germany is a difficult opponent, said Clarke, he expressed his hope “that the Germans will see us as an equally difficult opponent.” His assistant John Carver described the start against national coach Julian Nagelsmann’s team as a big challenge, “but we’re not afraid of it.” Rather, they want to give the many Scottish fans reason to be happy on Friday. “I’m sure we’ll be ready,” Carver said.

A bit of drumming is obviously part of the business in Scotland too. But at the same time a new self-confidence can be heard, and there are good reasons for that. Above all, the successful European Championship qualification, in which the Scots came second, behind Spain, but clearly ahead of the Norwegians around superstar Erling Haaland. Since then, the form has dropped somewhat, which probably also has something to do with the absence of some of the regulars due to injury; The recent test matches against Gibraltar (2:0) and Finland (2:2) fit into this not so convincing picture. Nevertheless, confidence prevails, as with sports journalist Robert Grieve from the Scottish “Sun”: “Of course Germany is the big favorite, but you never know. Scotland won 2-0 against Spain,” said the national team reporter in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

This surprise success was an example of the significant upswing in the Scottish selection. Germany’s opening opponents have reached a new level because the team has changed style and moved away from the simple “kick and rush” of previous decades. This new playful approach also has a lot to do with the fact that many Scots now earn their money in high-class clubs. “We now have a lot of players who are playing at a high level, unlike 20 years ago when most of them were in second-tier clubs,” said Grieve, who added, referring to the opening game in front of 66,000 people: “Many Scots play in the English team Premier League. So you won’t be in awe in the Munich arena.”

Julian Nagelsmann also referred to the change in culture and style that Scotland’s national team has undergone. “It’s no longer the classic Scottish team,” the German national coach recently stated, “in terms of football they are very, very good.” In March against the Netherlands, the Scots “didn’t play a single long ball over the midfield line.” Instead of fulfilling the clichés of tough fighters like they had for decades, the Scots stood out in a playful way. However, the neater style did not save them from a clear 4-0 defeat. And sometimes they still resort to long balls. But that is no longer their game principle, but rather just a situational device.

Recently, the Scots had to cope with some personnel setbacks. The three injured regulars Lewis Ferguson, Aaron Hickey and Nathan Patterson didn’t even make it into the European Championship squad. Attacker Jacob Brown then also had to sign off. Center forward Lyndon Dykes, who played in all eight games in the European Championship qualifiers and scored important goals, is now also out due to a knee injury. The goal-scoring qualities of Ché Adams from Southampton FC and Lawrence Shankland from Heart of Midlothian will now be even more important. Other important pillars are left-back and captain Andrew Robertson from Liverpool FC and midfielder Scott McTominay from Manchester United. The flexible McTominay was the most accurate Scot in the European Championship qualification with seven goals.

However, with 17 goals in 57 international matches, 29-year-old Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn remains the top goalscorer in the entire Scottish workforce. As an inexperienced Schuhplattler with a traditional hat on his head, he wasn’t quite as successful at the reception in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. He will be able to cope with a win against Germany on Friday.