Scotland made qualifying look like a breeze despite being drawn in the same group as Spain and Norway. They were able to claim a 2-0 victory over the former as well as winning away to the latter, with Steve Clarke deserving enormous credit for engineering a successful campaign. The Tartan Army will make themselves heard when it comes to next summer.
The Scots were thankful to Scott McTominay for a number of important goals last season and the Manchester United midfielder will be a key player for the outsiders in this game, with Aston Villa’s John McGinn also part of the midfield engine room. Captain Andrew Robertson can lead from the left-back position although there’s a lack of squad depth.
As for Germany, the roster looks star-studded on paper although there have been too many hiccups in recent tournaments. Perhaps this is a tournament where younger players come to the fore, including Florian Wirtz of Bayer Leverkusen who is having an excellent season for a team challenging at the right end of the Bundesliga.
Niclas Füllkrug has taken to international football like a duck to water and the Borussia Dortmund has pilfered ten goals in thirteen appearances thus far, with the Bayern Munich contingent capable of delivering on home soil. Serge Gnabry, Jamal Musiala, Thomas Muller, Leroy Sane, Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka could all play starring roles.