Euro 2024: Germany vs Scotland Preview, Prediction & Betting Picks

The opening game of Euro 2024 sees the hosts Germany take on Scotland in the first game of Group A.

Date: 6/14/24

Kick-off time: 12:00 Pacific Time

Venue: Allianz Arena

Germany will be hoping to avoid an upset in the first game of the European Championships, in front of their own fans. They and Scotland are in Group A, alongside Hungary and Switzerland, which could prove to be a tricky group. The Germans had struggled for wins in the last year or so, but have picked up form with three victories in their last four.

It was a strong qualification campaign for Scotland, as they secured their place in the tournament with two games to spare. However, after a seven-game winless streak through the last international break, they have since won one and drawn one against Gibraltar and Finland, so come into this game in inconsistent form.

In their last five games, Scotland have conceded 12 goals and scored nine. During qualifying, Scott McTominay was their leading goalscorer with seven. Only four players scored more, so he will likely be a strong threat once more. Aston Villa’s John McGinn has also been a solid contributor offensively with three goals. They could have some joy against an inconsistent Germany defence, who have kept just two clean sheets in their last 14. Contrastingly, Germany will be confident in finding the back of the net against a Scotland backline who have struggled greatly in recent games. Kai Havertz had 20 Premier League goal involvements this season, and will hope to carry his good club form into the tournament. He has scored in three of the side’s last six games.

This game will be just the 18th meeting between the two nations, and first since 2015. That was a European qualifier for the 2016 tournament, which Germany won 3-2. Thomas Muller was the scorer of a brace on this day, before Ilkay Gundogan added a third. The Germans have a dominant record over Scotland, only losing four games before, though three of these defeats came before 1960. Scotland are looking to snap a three-game losing streak against their opponents, a run which dates back to September 2003. Their last win was an international friendly in 1999.

Germany Team News

Bayern Munich winger Serge Gnabry missed out on the squad as he suffered a torn muscle. The Germans should have no other fitness concerns heading into the tournament, with the likes of Toni Kroos, Antonio Rudiger and Niclas Fullkrug all available following their Champions League involvement.

Scotland Team News

Right-backs Aaron Hickey and Nathan Patterson have been ruled out with hamstring injuries. Forward Lyndon Dykes was earlier ruled out of the squad, whilst Liverpool youngster Ben Doak will also miss out.

Germany Form Guide

In their last five games, Germany have won three, lost one and drawn one. As they are hosting the upcoming Euros in the summer, Germany did not have to go through the qualifying process, meaning all of their fixtures have been friendlies. They are currently unbeaten in four, their latest victory being a 2-1 win against Greece. They went behind to a Giorgos Masouras goal, but Kai Havertz and then an 89th minute winner from Brighton’s Pascal Gross turned it around.

This followed another win of the same scoreline against the Netherlands. Their opponents took the lead through Joey Veerman, but they responded shortly after with a goal from Maximilian Mittlestadt. Niclas Fullkrug scored with five minutes to go to ensure a win for the Germans. Another win against France preceded this, in which they won 2-0. Florian Wirtz gave them the lead in the very first minute, before Havertz netted early in the second half.

Before this was a 2-0 defeat at Austria. Marcel Sabitzer put the hosts ahead just before the half hour mark. Shortly after the restart, Bayern Munich’s Leroy Sane saw red, as the visitors were reduced to ten men. They could not overcome their disadvantage as Christoph Baumgartner doubled the lead. This followed another loss, this time at home to Turkey. Havertz broke the deadlock just five minutes into the game. Turkey managed to turn it around before half-time with two goals in the last ten minutes of the half. Fullkrug found the equaliser early in the second half, but then Germany conceded a penalty to win the visitors the game.

Scotland Form Guide

In the last five games, Scotland have won one, drawn two and lost two. It has been a poor stretch for Scotland as they only managed to pick up a single win across both friendlies and European Qualifiers. The first game of this run was their final qualifier, in which they took on Norway. The points were shared in a 3-3 draw at home to Norway in the final group game. Both teams took leads during the game, though it was the visitors who grabbed a late equaliser. Norway went ahead twice through Aron Donnum and Jorgen Strand Larsen, but were pegged back by John McGinn and an own goal. Mohamed Elyounoussi scored with four minutes left after Stuart Armstrong put Scotland on top.

The last international break saw them lose twice in friendlies, firstly 4-0 to Netherlands. Most of the damage was done late with Tijjani Reijnders, Georginio Wijnaldum, Wout Weghorst and Donyell Malen scoring. They then played a home fixture against Northern Ireland in which they lost 1-0. Conor Bradley’s first half goal was the difference between the two sides.

They finally picked up a win as they took on minnows Gibraltar. They were only able to score twice, but it was a much-needed victory. Ryan Christie scored the opener in the second half before Che Adams added another late on. In their latest friendly, they blew a 2-0 lead against Finland to draw 2-2. An own goal and Lawrence Shankland strike put them in front, but they were pegged back late by Benjamin Kallman and an Oliver Antman penalty.

Germany will be heavy favourites coming into this one, and we expect them to pick up a victory in the Euros opener. However, Scotland will be looking to cause an upset and could give the Germans some problems – Germany 2-1 Scotland

Germany vs Scotland will be available to watch on Fox.