Euro 2024 LIVE: Germany vs Scotland team news and kick off time as tournament begins

As Scotland visualise walking out against hosts Germany in the opening game of Euro 2024, they will expect the eyes of the world to be on them. Statements of Scottish defiance are now rarely heard at major tournaments, yet on the eve of the Euros, captain Andy Robertson declared: “If we perform the way we know we can perform, we believe we can make history.”

It has been 26 years since Scotland played a fixture of such international magnitude. Against Germany, there will be a symmetry to when the Tartan Army took on Brazil at the Stade de France in the opening game of the 1998 World Cup. That tournament, like many before, became one of glorious failure for Scotland. A generation on, this team believes they can become the first to progress from a group stage.

Don’t laugh but when the draw for the Euro 2024 finals was made, there was a faint sense of optimism among the Scotland contingent that Steve Clarke’s side were ready to spoil the party when facing hosts Germany in the tournament opener on Friday 14 June. Frankly, December 2023 feels a long time ago now. Back then, Germany were in a funk and could have been susceptible to a well-organised, cohesive unit. Now depleted and out-of-form, Scotland do not look like the same team that roared to automatic qualification last year. The odds of an upset are stacked against them.

Still, the Tartan Army will be out in force as Scotland head to just a second men’s major international tournament in 25 years, determined to put on a better show after falling a little flat at Hampden at Euro 2020. As it was three years ago, Scotland’s goal will simply be getting out of their group and reaching the last-16. Given the tournament format, securing even just one Group A victory against Germany, Switzerland or Hungary could be enough. There are harder groups, sure, but Scotland’s form suggests they could still be fourth-favourites to progress.

Germany, for instance, look like Germany again, even as expectations for the host nation are not as high as you might expect. Embarrassing group-stage exits from the 2018 and 2022 World Cups still hang over this team but Julian Nagelsmann appears to have rediscovered the feel-good factor. Comparisons are already being made to Ein Sommermärchen, the summer fairytale of 2006, when a young, fresh Germany side united a country as they progressed through their home World Cup. Recent wins over the Netherlands and France suggests Germany are coming into form at the right time.

It wasn’t the only new thing Kane had to endure. Although he has obviously experienced trophy disappointment on many occasions, it has never been when success was so expected. Kane had made the hard choice to leave Tottenham Hotspur for Bayern, only to suddenly find success wasn’t coming easy for the perennial German champions. It did hit him. The striker still registered this most painful of seasons – as he put it himself – in the way he always does. He internalised it and persevered. It was why the banquet suited him more than most. It helped him “get on with it”, in the way he always does.

Group A, Munich: Germany v Scotland (2000)

Group A, Cologne: Hungary v Switzerland (1400)

Group B, Berlin: Spain v Croatia (1700)

Group B, Dortmund: Italy v Albania (2000)

Group D, Hamburg: Poland v Netherlands (1400)

Group C, Stuttgart: Slovenia v Denmark (1700)

Group C, Gelsenkirchen: Serbia v England (2000)

Völlig losgelöst von der Erde / Schwebt das Raumschiff, völlig schwerelos.

Completely isolated from Earth / The spaceship floats, totally weightless.

So goes the hook of “Major Tom”, the 1980s hit by German popstar Peter Schilling. And if you haven’t heard it yet, you soon will, because as Germany prepares to host Euro 2024, “Major Tom” is poised to be the song of the tournament.

For German fans, it has already become an unofficial anthem of sorts, with the song back in vogue like so much from the 1980s. But to explain its third life, a quick retrospective is required on its first and second lives.

The first, naturally, came upon the song’s release in 1983, as Schilling’s debut single went all the way to No 1 in Germany – as well as Austria, Switzerland, and even Canada and Bolivia thanks to the production of an English version. It embodied the Neue Deutsche Welle (the German New Wave scene), as songwriters began to move past the significant UK and US influence on domestic music. “At the time, there weren’t a lot of artists doing something uniquely German but cutting edge”, The Independent hears from Derek Rae, perhaps the most recognisable voice in German football commentary among English-speaking audiences.

What lengths would you go to in order to support your country at a major tournament? Would you walk 500 miles? And then 500 more? When Craig Ferguson arrives in Munich on the eve of Euro 2024, the 20-year-old from Paisley will have walked 1,000 miles in 41 days across six countries to support Scotland in Germany and fulfil a lifelong dream.

But for Ferguson, an epic challenge has been fuelled by a greater cause. After departing Hampden on 5 May in his kilt and Scotland top, with only a pack of additional clothes and supplies strapped to his back, his long days on the road have been driven by raising funds for men’s mental health and male suicide prevention charities. There has been a close source of inspiration, too. The idea of walking from Hampden to Munich came from one of Ferguson’s best mates, whose dad took his own life while they were teenagers in high school.

Euro 2024 is nearly upon us and with it comes a sartorial smorgasbord for us to enjoy, or be deeply offended by.

What have Croatia done this time? Have England pulled off a genuine gem? Why are Belgium wearing brown shorts? And which kit has won our highly coveted top spot?

Nike, Adidas, Puma, Macron, Joma and the good people at Hummel have dropped their designs so, without further ado, let’s get stuck in.

Ranked from the visually upsetting to the optically arousing, here is our list of Euro 2024 kits.

Euro 2024 is just around the corner and that can only mean one thing…fans of all 24 countries fuming at their national team head coaches and insisting they could do a better job, pick a more exciting team, go further in the tournament.

Thankfully, they have a chance to do that – sort of – with fantasy football back on the radar. We’re using the official Uefa version for the summer and have below detailed everything you need to know to get started (which will be familiar to Fantasy Premier League veterans) and picked out a handful of possible stars for your team.

There are even prizes on offer for a lucky few, including game consoles, footballs, kits and a trip overseas. You can sign up to create your team here.

hen the Germany squad first got together for the final Euro 2024 camp two weeks ago, some of their senior players were a bit surprised. Huge numbers had come out to see them. “It was great to see that so many people were there,” Joshua Kimmich said. “You can feel that the people at home are ready, that the atmosphere is building.”

There was no sense of this tournament suddenly starting without much build-up for them. They are among a few countries which have been relishing it for months.

That’s something that figures like Kimmich can often forget, through no fault of their own. This isn’t everything for them but just another part of football that is relentlessly dominated by the club game. It was instructive that the eve of the tournament saw the Professional Footballers’ Association join the legal case against Fifa over the international match calendar. The Champions League final took place just 13 days ago, the shortest-ever break between that showpiece and the start of the European Championships. That’s all the more remarkable given they are both Uefa events. It is a huge reduction from the three-week break in 2012.

Euro 2024 is upon us, as Germany hosts its first major men’s tournament since 2006 – with the national team seeking its first trophy in a decade.

Some fancy Julian Nagelsmann’s team to defy expectations on home soil, while there is naturally significant faith in France, as the 2018 world champions and 2022 runners-up.

Can England finally get over the line under Gareth Southgate, three years after losing the delayed Euro 2020 final to Italy at Wembley? And if so, will Harry Kane claim his second international Golden Boot?

Or will a younger star steal the spotlight, as clubs and coaches around Europe keep an eye out for the ‘next big thing’ in the summer transfer market?

Below, we predict the teams, players and moments that could define Euro 2024. Without further ado…