Scotland 2 - Germany 3
It wouldn’t be the Scottish way to meekly capitulate on home soil against the most illustrious teams in football. The Scots are brave, bullish and fight like lions; all too often in defeat.
There should be no shame attached to the fact Gordon Strachan’s side, which doesn’t contain a single world-class player, were defeated by a team featuring 11 of them. The frustration in the Scotland camp must be that an attitude to prevalent against Germany here was conspicuous by its absence three days earlier.
Germany, inspired by Thomas Müller, were deserved winners from an occasionally breathless and always entertaining five-goal encounter.
Frustration
At a capacity Glasgow venue, Scotland’s bright start was inevitable. It arrived, though, without Manuel Neuer being required to break sweat. Every Scottish foray into German territory was met with audible excitement, every tackle on a white-shirted opponent the cue for roars of delight.
The nature of the German opener, then, was as much a cause for home frustration as the fact it arrived at all. Müllerwas allowed to stroll towards the penalty area without anything remotely resembling close attention. His 18-yard shot wasn’t particularly well hit, which added to a deflection combined to deceive a helpless David Marshall.
Just when Scotland would have been forgiven an expectation of the worst, salvation arrived. A Shaun Maloney free-kick worried Neuer to the extent he could only parry the ball straight against his team-mate, Mats Hummels. Neither German player could prevent the own goal.
On the pitch, Scotland’s task was to retain composure amid inevitable impulse to force the play. If there was any evidence of German weakness during Friday’s victory over Poland, it was the rearguard.
Scottish eagerness may have played its part in Germany edging back in front. Or maybe the visitors had simply been riled. Emre Can was afforded far too much space to shoot at Marshall when meeting a cross from the right flank. Marshall’s stop reached the head of Müller who nodded home via the left-hand post.
Were Scotland suitably chastised? Not a bit of it. They rounded off the first half with the game’s fourth goal. Maloney was again the set-play creator, with his poor corner only partially cleared by the Germans. James McArthur returned the ball with side-footed interest.
Wonderful
Germany had the ball in the net within five minutes of the restart, only for the offside flag to deny them the goal.The harsh critique would be to point to Scottish failure to heed a warning. In reality, they were undone by a wonderful piece of German play.
Müller’s movement was sublime, as he collected a pass from Can before an exchange of three with Ilkay Gündogan. The Borussia Dortmund player justified his inclusion with a crisp finish.
Gündogan’s strike was the precursor to Germany’s finest spell of the game, albeit Alan Hutton again raised Scottish hopes with a shot which flew narrowly wide of Neuer’s goal.
Götze should have settled matters but blazed over, five minutes from time. Marshall’s appearance at a last-minute corner couldn’t gleam the drama Scotland craved. It was all rather familiar.
Also in Group D, Poland thrashed Gibraltar 8-1. The result leaves them second in the group on 17 points.
SCOTLAND: Marshall, Hutton, Russell Martin, Hanley, Mulgrew, Maloney (Anya 60), McArthur, Brown (Chris Martin 80), Forrest (Ritchie 80), Morrison, Steven Fletcher. Subs not used: Gordon, Griffiths, Whittaker, Naismith, Russell, Darren Fletcher, Greer, Forsyth, McGregor. Booked: Morrison, Maloney.
GERMANY: Neuer, Can, Boateng, Hummels, Hector, Schweinsteiger, Kroos, Müller, Ozil (Kramer 90), Gündogan, Götze (Schurrle 86). Subs not used: Zieler, Mustafi, Rudy, Ginter, Podolski, Volland, Bellarabi, Kruse, ter Stegen. Attendance: 52,000 Referee: Bjorn Kuipers (Netherlands). – (Guardian Service)
