Claudio Brigliadori
June 14, 2024
There Germany opens with a bangEuropean at home overwhelming 5-1 the Scotland in the first match of Group A (which also includes Hungary and Switzerland) and tournament. Tough, ferocious, on the ball both athletically and technically, tactically brilliant: the team of Julian Nagelsmann will be a serious contender for the title even in the absence of an absolute superstar. Assuming that Jamal Musiala21 year old from Bayern, isn’t already.
Euro 2024 begins in Munich with a short opening ceremony which also paid homage to the football icon Franz Beckenbauer. Then the dancers wearing the colors of the 24 participating teams danced to the tune of the official song Fire performed by singer Leony in front of an audience of 66,000 spectators in the Munich Arena in the presence of the German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. In the end, Beckenbauer’s widow, Heidi, brought the trophy that would be awarded after the final on July 14 to the Munich stadium and then blew a kiss to the sky.
On the pitch, Germany-Scotland hadn’t even started: in the 11th minute the hosts went ahead Wirtz, driving force for Bayer Leverkusen, who passes Ginn with a flat shot. At 19′ it is Havertz, another (former) golden boy of German football, who served Musiala the easy ball to make it 2-0. In the 24th minute there would also be a penalty for a foul on the wild Musiala, but the VAR corrects: free kick from the edge and nothing done. In the 44th minute, however, there was a penalty, and also with Porteous’ expulsion: the hat trick was served by Havertz. In the second half the whites manage, come close to poker several times and it is the giant Fullkrug, in the 68th minute, to score with a great shot. The end is academic, with many substitutions until the last moments: in the 87th minute an unlucky own goal Rudiger (very angry) and ironically euphoric Scottish fans in the stands, but it’s the former Juve Emre Can to score the fifth goal with an assist from the veteran Muller, who took over. Germany is there, of course. Everyone warned, be careful. On the contrary, achtung.
