Julian Nagelsmann wanted noise and enthusiasm to expel fears, suspicions and mistrust, feelings that a team like Germany also has lately, and his players followed his orders. It was almost more advice to let go of their nerves than a precept to They will intimidate Scotland, rough and rugged types who are not scared of anything.
“We will have more pressure than them and they will want to take advantage of it,” he had warned them. The girls, obedient, burst in with fury, having already established by system the throw to the opponent’s area from the initial kick-off, and Before 20 minutes, with how expensive the goal is, Germany was already winning 2-0.
And silence came.
The noise, literally and figuratively, came through efficiency. The noise was caused by two delicate, agile, light guys, so ethereal that no one could catch them, even though they were constantly exchanging positions on the wings. Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala, The youngest of the group, at 21 years old, had the ability to run along the front of the attack despite the excess capacity in the area.
A team joke
Scotland stacked up five defenders, without quantity mattering, not here either, more than quality. He Tartan Army (The Tartan Army) more than a humorous nickname, it was perceived as grotesque in the face of the defeat conceded, the largest in its brief history due to major events. They were a joke, like they will sing ‘No Scotland, no party’ with Rüdiger’s own goal.
The British stands fell silent. He sang between the first goal and the second, but he became discouraged when he saw that his warriors were templagaites, and that the dream, not just of winning, of tying, but even of annoying, worrying, frightening Germany, was dissipating so quickly. soon. Most of them sat exhausted, frustrated. Some left the stands towards the bar, without restrictions on the consumption of beer, the only palliative they found to brighten the night. How she had entertained the day.
Two penalties and expulsion
It was not just about conceding two goals in 18 minutes, three in 45, but the defenders committed two penalties: the first, called by the Frenchman Turpin, was corrected by the VAR and the foul was taken on the edge of the area; the second, unappreciated by the referee, was detected by the images Porteous’ treacherous attack on Ilkay Gündogan, seconds after the Barça midfielder, playmaker with Germany, had headed a cross as Lewandowski finished them off. The Scottish centre-back was sent off, that’s how criminal his front tackle was.
The chronicle of the match was already written. It was determined by the events, all crucial to the outcome, without being able to gauge the degree of recovery of German football or predict that Scotland will be eliminated in the group stage as it has repeated throughout its history. Of course, the inequality in the football progress of both countries was appreciated.
The last precedent between both teams dated back to 2015, and was a draw in Glasgow. Neuer, Gündogan and Kroos were already running around, plus the eternal Thomas Müller, now a substitute, and who already came out with the 4-0, the work of Niclas Füllkrug, one of the few who was saved from the burning in Qatar.
Gündogan entered the minefield and came out with a scratch that could have been very serious. Kroos, a few meters back, appeared and disappeared in pristine white, like his numbers (55 good passes out of 55 in the first half) while the three points were managed. Nothing could alter the outcome, since the Scots’ resumption was limited to two insubstantial attacks on the area.
Homage changes
Gündogan’s injury was only a scare that prevented him from taking the penalty, since Nagelsmann did not replace him with the game resolved, nor while he was devising tributes, such as bringing on Müller for Musiala (two Bayern players) and removing Kroos, whom he has seduced to return to the Team, by Emre Can, also a Glasgow survivor and called in at the last minute to cover Aleksandar Pavlovic’s injury. He scored the fifth.
Gündogan, the captain of Germany, had written a public letter, in which he expressed his hope that football would use power to unite people. Starting with his selection, where he has been frowned upon for being the son of immigrants. “I can lead a team that is special because it is made up of cultures and countries and diversity will make us strong.” They have started strong.
