Scotland have captain Andy Robertson in the starting lineup for the Euro 2024 opener against hosts Germany.
Steve Clarke’s side look to spoil the party in Group A as they take on the hosts in Munich, when any sort of positive result would be a significant boost to their hopes of reaching the knockout stages of a major tournament for the first time.
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There were fears that Liverpool left-back Robertson’s involvement against Germany could be in doubt, after he limped out of training earlier this week. But manager Clarke confirmed on the eve of the game that his entire squad is “ready to go”, and Robertson starts at left-back.Lawrence Shankland also withdrew from training with a “niggle” but is named on the bench for the Group A opener, as is Stuart Armstrong, who has been training individually since overcoming a muscle problem. Callum McGregor gets the nod over Billy Gilmour in midfield.
Aaron Hickey, Ben Doak and Lyndon Dykes were all ruled out of the tournament before the squad flew to Germany.
Following Aleksandar Pavlovic being sent home with tonsillitis and replaced by Emre Can, there are no injury problems for Julian Nagelsmann to contend with as Germany look to put their recent tournament struggles behind them and deliver on home soil.
Ilkay Gundogan starts as the most advanced midfielder ahead of Toni Kroos and Robert Andrich, with Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz getting the nod out wide. That means Leroy Sane has to settle for a place on the bench.
Arsenal’s Kai Havertz scored in Germany’s final friendly win over Greece last week and is preferred to Niclas Fullkrug up front, while Pascal Gross scored the winner off the bench in that match and will hope to have some involvement again.
Germany XI: Neuer, Kimmich, Rudiger, Tah, Mittelstadt, Andrich, Kroos, Gundogan, Musiala, Wirtz, Havertz
Subs: Baumann, Ter Stegen, Raum, Gross, Fullkrug, Fuhrich, Muller, Beier, Schlotterbeck, Anton, Sane, Henrichs, Koch, Can, Undav
Scotland XI: Gunn, Ralston, Hendry, Porteous, Tierney, Robertson, Christie, McGregor, McTominay, McGinn, Adams
Subs: Kelly, Clark, Hanley, Shankland, Gilmour, Cooper, Armstrong, Morgan, Conway, Jack, McCrorie, McLean, Taylor, Forrest, McKenna
Time and date: 8pm BST on Friday June 14, 2024
Venue: Allianz Arena
TV channel: ITV1
