British media pours cold water: Scotland needs a miracle to spoil Germany’s party

With the opening match of the Euros approaching, despite Scotland’s preparations, the Evening Standard dampens their prospects.

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Let’s start by looking at which Scottish players have missed out on this Euro tournament. Aaron Hickey from Brentford, Nathan Patterson from Everton, Lewis Ferguson from Bologna, Ben Doak from Liverpool, and Lyndon Dykes from QPR. Dykes was Steve Clarke’s first-choice striker, but his injury leaves Clarke with only Adams as a forward option. This puts the goal-scoring burden on others like John McGinn from Aston Villa and Scott McTominay from Manchester United, who scored 7 and 10 goals respectively last season.

In Euro 2020, Scotland finished bottom of Group D with one draw and two losses. As Manager Clarke puts it, he still hopes his team can cause Germany some headaches. “We can’t just sit in front of our box for 98 minutes. They need to know we can hurt them.”

However, Germany boasts a midfield trio led by Toni Kroos, with Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala. How will Scotland match up against such a formidable midfield?

Despite the fact that the four best third-placed teams advance to the round of 16, Scotland’s group opponents—Germany, Hungary, and Switzerland—are no pushovers. Switzerland hasn’t missed a major tournament since Euro 2004, and Hungary is considered a dark horse by many commentators.

Manager Clarke hopes his team can secure four points to qualify for the round of 16 with their heads held high. But the question remains: Can they do it?