Julian Nagelsmann praises “very good” Scotland as he insists “there’s no point in talking about the past”

Hosts Germany kick start Euro 2024 when they face Scotland in the opening game of the tournament tomorrow evening in Munich.

Die Mannschaft’s new-look team under Julian Nagelsmann clash with a Scotland side that recently dispatched Spain 2-0, and who are not to be underestimated.

In front of a home crowd, DFB will be overwhelming favourites; however, with thousands of the Tartan Army expected to be in attendance, Steve Clarke will have hopes of an early shock.

A tough group that also includes Switzerland and Hungary awaits as DFB will have hopes of a winning start on their quest for a first European Championship in almost three decades.

Nagelsmann confirmed that Aleksandar Pavlović was forced to withdraw from Euro 2024 yesterday because of persistent tonsillitis.

On the youngster, the German manager said:

“All of our players are healthy – except Pavlović. The tonsillitis is so serious that he won’t be fit to play any time soon. Big compliments to the medical team. I can rely on the full strength of our team, we’re ready and really looking forward to tomorrow evening.”

Borussia Dortmund midfielder Emre Can joined the squad this morning as the replacement for the 20-year-old.

The former Bayern Munich coach spoke on the Champions League finalist and whether Leon Goretzka was also an option:

“It’s not the time to talk about the players who are not here.

“We have chosen Emre Can. Rocco Reitz has trained well, but we wouldn’t be doing him any favours by giving him his first international match during a European Championship. It’s to protect him.”

• Kroos believes Germany will go all the way

Toni Kroos announced that he will be retiring from professional football after the Euros last month on his podcast.

Nagelsmann revealed that the 34-year-old took a bit of persuading:

“It took me a while to persuade him. He said that he would only be back if he felt that we could win something with the team. And then he said ‘Yes, let’s do it.'”

Ahead of their first match in Group A, the German manager admitted the Tartan Army possess a core group with a lot of quality and have made strides under Steve Clarke in the way they play football.

On tomorrow’s game and belief, he said:

“Scotland are a very good team that have four or five important players in their group. They put in lots of crosses.

“They have made big progress in the way they play football. Their mentality is certainly extraordinary. We are under more pressure than the Scots.

“We want to win the opening game. I also demand that we believe in ourselves. We have good players and have shown mentality in recent games. We have everything we need and want to bring it onto the pitch.”

• Nagelsmann calls for fan support tomorrow

The Munich Football Arena, or Allianz Arena as it is more commonly known, will host the match between Germany and Scotland tomorrow evening.

Nagelsmann is eager for the German faithful to be the twelfth man in Munich:

“I want us to do everything we can to have a great tournament. I want the country to push us forward as Germany. Please all be loud in the stadium tomorrow. I’m confident we’ll play a good game.”

• Germany have put the woes of recent tournaments behind them

Following an abysmal 2022 World Cup campaign that saw Die Mannschaft exit in the group stages, Nagelsmann remained tight lipped on the failings of the past with his sights firmly set on making sure DFB are successful this time around.

“I don’t want to talk about the past. It’s about the status quo. We want to be more successful than we were last time. It’s important to start well tomorrow. There’s no point in talking about past tournaments.”

• Neuer has the full support of his manager

Germany’s first-choice goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has been subject to criticism from the German Press in recent days after his mistake against Greece in last week’s warm-up match.

On the Bayern Munich goalkeeper and the discussions in the media, Nagelsmann said:

“Manuel and I know how the media works. Everyone has to do their job. Things have calmed down since my statement [that Neuer remains first choice].

“I’m not interested in what you discuss about my players. I trust Manu [Manuel Neuer] and he will play a good tournament.”

• Gundogan on “uncomfortable” Scotland and his role as captain

Germany captain Ilkay Gundogan discussed the Scotland team and his experiences of playing against many of them for Manchester City in the Premier League.

Gundogan said:

“I expect a very uncomfortable game, I know many of their players from the Premier League. It’s an experienced team. They will be unpleasant to play against. We must not underestimate the Scots.

‘I have respect for them, but if we reach our limits, I think we have a good chance of winning the game tomorrow.”

The 33-year-old reminisced about being at fan festivals as a child during the 2006 World Cup and the honour of being handed the armband by Nagelsmann:

“It’s a huge privilege not only to lead the team onto the pitch as captain, but also to play with my teammates in my country. You don’t get such a chance very often. I was at the fan festivals as a youngster in 2006.

“To now be part of this team and to represent the German people is an honour. We want to make them proud.”

Gundogan also spoke on the new rule that only the captain is allowed to approach the referee, any other player will now get booked.

However, the Barcelona midfielder hopes the referee’s display “understanding”:

“I hope they understand that we are human and sometimes react like that. Sometimes we don’t have the best manners. I can understand the idea of ​​the rule. A world-class referee has that empathy to assess difficult situations.

“I hope the referees show understanding.”

• Gundogan insists this German team is aware of what is at stake

After two group stage exits in the last three major tournaments and the turbulent period under Hansi Flick, Gundogan made it clear that the team is in high spirits going into tomorrow’s opening match:

“It helped us that the coach assigned clear roles. After the negative experiences of the past tournaments, everyone knows what is at stake and what they have to do.

“That gives us a certain sense of security. The results in the test matches speak for the good morale and atmosphere in the team.”