Germany Outshines Scotland With A Stunning 5-1 Win In Euro 2024 Opener, Nagelsmann Commends Team

Julian Nagelsmann praised his Germany squad for their composure under pressure as Euro 2024 hosts, following a 5-1 victory over Scotland. He expressed surprise at the lack of aggression from Steve Clarke's side. Germany's triumph marked the largest opening-game win in European Championship history, with goals from Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz, Niclas Fullkrug, and Emre Can.

This result made Nagelsmann the second coach to win his first Euros match by four or more goals, following Sweden's Lars Lagerback in 2004. It was also Germany's most significant victory at the Euros and the first time Scotland conceded five or more goals in a competitive game since a 6-0 defeat to the Netherlands in a Euro 2004 qualifier.

Germany faced a challenging build-up to their home tournament, with Nagelsmann having only eight games to prepare after Hansi Flick's dismissal last year. Despite this, Nagelsmann believes they managed the pressure well. Speaking to ITV Sport, he said, "I'm happy, I'm satisfied. In the first game as the home country, we looked back at the first games of the last tournaments and there can be a kind of pressure."

He continued, "Especially in the first 20 minutes, we were brilliant. We had great ball possession and great counter-pressing. I was happy with the performance and we stayed focused for the whole game. We conceded one goal, but in the end it's okay. Our players were complaining about conceding that goal, which is a good sign when we were already four goals in the lead."

Scotland did not attempt a single shot on target and failed to register an effort of any kind until Scott McKenna forced an own goal off Antonio Rudiger in the 87th minute. Nagelsmann admitted he expected more from Clarke's team, who were three goals and a man down by half-time after Ryan Porteous was sent off for a challenge on Ilkay Gundogan.

"I was kind of surprised that Scotland weren't that aggressive in the first 20 minutes," Nagelsmann said. "I think they were surprised by our possession, which was really concentrated. They started the game very well and made one mistake in the first 15 minutes. Then they were kind of surprised, kind of afraid."

Key Moments

Nagelsmann highlighted the importance of the first 20 minutes: "They felt we had players in the offensive row that could score goals so they defended low. They didn't make the high pressure like they sometimes did in the qualifiers. I think the first 20 minutes were key to the game."

The match statistics underline Germany's dominance:

This comprehensive victory sets a positive tone for Germany as they continue their Euro 2024 campaign on home soil.