Euro 2024: Germany vs Scotland betting preview

It’s finally time for Euro 2024. The first match of the prestigious tournament will take place on Friday, June 14th at the Allianz Arena in Munich between hosts Germany and Scotland. Kick-off is scheduled for 3 PM ET. The Germans are expected to be one of the title contenders this summer, especially given the event is on home soil. As for the Scots, this is their second consecutive appearance at the Euros, but they failed to progress out of the group stages three years ago. Below, we’ll discuss what this group looks like and preview each side ahead of the highly anticipated affair.

What does Group A look like?

Group A is headlined by Germany, while Scotland, Hungary, and Switzerland are also in the pod. The Germans should finish at the top, while the Swiss are expected to be the runners-up. But, anything can happen. Hungary is an intriguing side as well, led by Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai.

Germany

Germany has had a couple of different bosses in recent memory, with Hansi Flick’s tenure after taking over for Joachim Low being short-lived following a string of disappointing results at the World Cup where they didn’t get out of the group stages. Now, it’s former Bayern gaffer Julian Nagelsmann in charge, who will be hoping to help the Germans make a deep run at a major tournament.

Unfortunately, that’s been unheard of in recent years. But, they’re the outright favorites to win Group A and do have a strong squad that should be able to be competitive at Euro 2024. The side did not have to go through qualifying since they’re hosting the tournament, but results this year leading up to this summer were promising. In four friendlies, they won three and drew once, beating France, Greece, and the Netherlands while settling for a stalemate against Ukraine. Needless to say, Germany has shown they can compete with the best since the turn of the year. It’s a matter of showing up and producing the goods on the big stage. 

For what it’s worth, the Germans have made the semifinals in each of the previous three major tournaments they’ve hosted, which is a promising sign. It will be very important to get started on the right foot on Friday with three points against a country they should comfortably beat. Germany is a heavy -358 favorite at 888sport.

Scotland

Scotland isn’t as familiar with the European Championships. In fact, this will be just their 10th match ever at the tournament. They’ve had minimal success too, failing to win a single game at Euro 2020. The Scots have just two victories overall in the tournament, one in 1992 and one in 1996.

It’s not like Scotland’s expectations are going to be very high, but this squad does have some talent. Scott McTominay, Andy Robertson, Billy Gilmour, and John McGinn are a handful of notable names who all play in the Premier League for various clubs. Leading up to Euro 2024, Scotland won just one of their four friendlies, tasting defeat against the Netherlands and Northern Ireland. They beat Gibraltar and tied Finland.

The Scots had a wonderful qualifying campaign to book their spot in Germany though, finishing in second place with 17 points, only four behind group winners Spain. A shocking 2-0 win over Espana was probably their most famous victory in years. That being said, perhaps another upset could be in the cards here. Scotland is a major underdog on Friday at soccer betting sites.