Biggest defeat since 2012
“Embarrassing” Scots are torn apart by the domestic press
15.06.2024, 13:40
Up to 200,000 Scots are expected to attend the European Championships in Germany, and the vanguard creates a great atmosphere before the opening match. But a few hours later, disillusionment sets in: the 1:5 disaster against the German team causes a huge hangover in the domestic press.
The so humiliated “Bravehearts” were once again slammed in the British media after their heaviest defeat in twelve years. “The party,” commented the BBC’s Scottish service on the 1:5 defeat of coach Steve Clarke’s team in the opening match of the European Championship against hosts Germany, “the party is over and the hangover is here. The good feeling has simply flown out the window.” Former national player Kris Boyd simply called the team’s performance “embarrassing” in a Sky interview.
After the “horrific defeat” (Daily Express) and the “misery of Munich” (Scottish Daily Mail), the team must now show a reaction, demanded Boyd. “The games against Switzerland and Hungary will not be easy,” he said. “You have to put this result behind you, it is over now and you can no longer influence it. What you can do is look at the next two games and try to cause problems for your opponents.”
The last time the Scots were so outclassed by the USA was in 2012 with the same result. Accordingly, football celebrities were harsh in their criticism of Clarke’s team after a “night of utter recklessness” (The Scotsman). “Scotland needs a completely different mentality and a completely different approach,” judged striker icon Alistair McCoist.
“We didn’t exist at all”
Former European Championship participant Pat Nevin also expects a reflection on their qualities: “The team manager and the players know that they owe their fans, their country and their nation a performance.” During the day, several thousand Scots fans in Munich had been eagerly awaiting kick-off and celebrating extensively. During the game itself, the optimism quickly evaporated after the DFB team had already led 3-0 at half-time. “It was a dream that the fans held on to until Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala turned it into a nightmare within ten minutes,” said the BBC.
Before leaving for the team’s quarters in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and getting ready for the decisive preliminary round matches in Group A on Wednesday against Switzerland and four days later against Hungary, captain Andy Robertson initially seemed at a loss: “In the first half, everything went wrong for us,” said the Liverpool FC defender dejectedly in the catacombs of the Munich Arena: “We were completely out of place.”
According to the BBC commentators, these problems are also part of the “mountain of work for Clarke”. The 60-year-old was tight-lipped after the heaviest defeat in Scotland’s European Championship history and looked ahead demonstratively confidently despite a match plan “that really, really, really didn’t work” (Nevin).
“We are a better team than we have shown,” said Clarke. “We are keeping our faith. We need four points from the next two games and that is what we are focused on.” The Herald newspaper was also looking ahead. “With two games left, everything is at stake,” it said. The Daily Record aptly wrote: “It can only get better.”