With an own goal in Germany’s 5-1 win yesterday, centre-back Antonio Rudiger became one of Scotland’s top scorers in Euro history.

In Munich on the evening of June 14, Scotland missed the target once during the 90 minutes, but still scored a goal against goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. In the 87th minute, while leading 4-0, the away team shortened the gap thanks to Scott McKenna’s header that hit Antonio Rudiger and redirected it into the net. This is considered an own goal by the German defender.

Rudiger scored an own goal, helping Scotland shorten the score to 1-4 in the Euro 2024 opening match at Allianz Stadium, Munich on June 14. Photo: Reuters

Prior to Euro 2024 , Scotland had scored just five goals in three appearances at the European Championships, and no player had ever scored more than two. At Euro 1992, Scotland lost 1-0 to the Netherlands, 2-0 to Germany, and 3-0 to the Soviet Union, before being eliminated in the group stage. Paul McStay, Brian John McClair and Gary McAllister were the Scots who scored against the Soviet Union.

At Euro 1996, Scotland scored just one goal in a 0-0 draw with the Netherlands, lost 0-2 to England and beat Switzerland 1-0 thanks to Ally McCoist. At Euro 2020, Scotland continued to score just one goal and were eliminated in the group stage. They lost 0-2 to the Czech Republic, drew 0-0 with England and lost 1-3 to Croatia with the only goal scored by Callum William McGregor – the 31-year-old midfielder who also started yesterday’s defeat to Germany.

Therefore, AS newspaper commented jokingly that Rudiger “entered the list of players who scored the most goals for Scotland in Euro history”.

Rudiger dejected after scoring an own goal. Screenshot.

In Munich yesterday, Scotland were outclassed, trailing by three goals in the first half and even having to play with one man down from the 44th minute when Ryan Porteous was sent off for a tackle on Ilkay Gundogan in the box. They scored a lucky goal after the break, but conceded two more.

Therefore, the Scottish media severely criticized the team’s performance under coach Steve Clarke. The Scotsman newspaper criticized the home team for being “humiliated by Germany” and commented “Scotland’s Euro bubble burst in Munich”. This newspaper also criticized Scotland’s playing style, including not pressing and leaving too much space for Toni Kroos – the midfielder set a record of passing accuracy of 101 out of 102 passes, reaching a rate of 99% .