Andy Robertson, the captain of Scotland and a left-back for Liverpool, provided a candid evaluation of his team’s performance following their crushing defeat by Germany in the inaugural game of Euro 2024 in Munich.

When Ryan Porteous was dismissed, Kai Havertz scored three goals from the penalty spot, and Scotland was already two goals down, due to goals from Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala. Substitute Niclas Fullkrug secured a 4-0 victory in the second half. An Antonio Rudiger own goal provided a consolation, and Emre Can, a former Liverpool midfielder, concluded a remarkable evening for the host nation.

“In the first half, we were completely inept and failed to demonstrate our presence,” Robertson stated during the post-match interview on ITV Sport. The ball was left in the hands of capable athletes. Their strategy proved to be infinitely more effective than ours. It was not due to the practice. It was due to our failure to assemble it. You are required to do so when significant events occur.

“During the second half, the players demonstrated exceptional fortitude when they were reduced to ten men. Despite the fact that we draw the second half and concede a careless goal, it is of little comfort. We are aware that we are well-supported. Today was a significant disappointment, despite the fact that we have a plethora of supportive individuals. The host nation is the opponent in the inaugural game; however, we must promptly recover. Today, there were numerous errors, and we must address them to ensure a swift transition until Tuesday.

“Perhaps it serves as a reminder of the tournament’s difficulty.” The previous occasion was significantly different. This time, you are competing against organisations of the highest calibre. Today, they demonstrated that. They are significant characters who arrived and presented us with significant challenges. They had an explanation for nearly every action we took. Occasionally, this occurs; however, we did not perform to the best of our ability. We have a five-day period to resolve our differences, following which we will face another challenging challenge against Switzerland. We will endure disappointment tomorrow, and we will be required to return on Sunday.

Scotland may still qualify from its division as a result of the tournament’s expansion. Even a single victory could suffice, as up to three teams from each group will advance to the elimination phase. Scotland will face Hungary and Switzerland tomorrow. Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai is Hungary’s star man while Xherdan Shaqiri, still only 32 and now playing in MLS, is in the Swiss team.