Euro 2024: trio of games await on day two as Scotland react to thrashing – live | Euro 2024

Belgium are racing to get defenders Arthur Theate and Vertonghen fit for Monday, while veteran Axel Witsel is a doubt after he pulling up in training on Friday. Thomas Meunier is definitely out of Monday’s opener, leaving Tedesco potentially thin on defensive options.

Slovakia produced a pair of 4-0 wins over San Marino and Wales in warm-up fixtures but Belgium will be a step up in quality for Italian coach Francesco Calzona.

“Belgium are definitely the strongest team in our group. They are in a moment of change with their players because of their ages, but they have really strong young players. I believe we’ll be seeing them at the top again,” Calzona told uefa.com.

Experienced midfielder Juraj Kucka has overcome a shoulder problem that had kept him sidelined since April, while centre-back Denis Vavro is fit to play after a muscle problem. (Reuters)

Rejuvenated Belgium hope to banish memories of a dismal 2022 World Cup and extend a 15-match unbeaten run in their European Championship Group E opener against Slovakia on Monday.

The country’s golden generation were tarnished by a first-round exit in Qatar but, with several fresh faces in the team, Belgium have been unbeaten since coach Domenico Tedesco took over in February last year.

Belgium have kept clean sheets in 10 of their 15 games under Tedesco and have scored 33 goals, with Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne and Jan Vertonghen the experienced heads among exciting young talents such as Jeremy Doku, Johan Bakayoko and Amadou Onana.

“The experience of Qatar made us more mature and makes us look at a tournament differently,” winger Yannick Carrasco said. “As a favourite, there is much more pressure. Being an outsider is beautiful but everyone knows we want to go as far as possible.

“There is a good atmosphere and a togetherness. We play board games, on the PlayStation. No-one stays in his room. Everyone is hungry and very motivated, young and old.” (Reuters)

In a little over two hours Hungary will meet Switzerland in Cologne in the second match of the tournament. Our live blog for that will be launching before long. This is what Group A looks like after Germany’s thumping win last night:

Tributes to Campbell from Everton and Nottingham Forest:

As a Forest fan I remember that Campbell mid-1990s opening-day hat-trick posted by Rob below extremely well. Partly because the headline in the next day’s Observer was “New Campbell, new danger”, referencing the slogan cooked up by the Conservatives to try and stop Labour winning the 1997 general election.

Such terrible news about Kevin Campbell. A terrific player and a lovely man.

We’ve put together this gallery to remember his life and career:

Thank you Rob. Hello everyone. And a very happy first three-match day of the Euros to you all.

It’s time for me to hand over to Luke McLaughlin for the next couple of hours. Thanks for your company, tara.

Spain v Croatia (5pm) Luka Modric, who is 22 years older than Lamine Yamal, begins his final European Championship tonight. Aleksandar Holiga previews Croatia’s campaign.

Everton have had a few relegation battles in recent times. Without Kevin Campbell, they would probably have gone down in 1998-99. After joining on loan from Trabzonspor, he scored nine goals in a month to make Everton safe. Nine goals in a month!

And another, his hat-trick on the opening day of the 1996-97 season. The third goal is delicious.

Another memory of Super Kev: the goal that put Arsenal into the Cup Winners’ Cup final in 1994. For some reason that cup run is still so underrated; they beat three superb teams in Torino, Paris Saint-Germain and Parma.

Shall we talk about England? They start their campaign against Serbia tomorrow evening, so there’s every chance #SouthgateOut will be trending by ten past eight.

Oi! Stop what you’re doing, I need your help.

On this day in 1996, Paul Gascoigne scored against Scotland blah blah blah. A couple of hours later, Youri Djorkaeff scored for France against Spain.

I always thought it was a goal of unobtrusive class, the kind only the best players score, but having watched it again I think he might get lucky with the first touch. Does he inadvertently control it onto his standing foot or am I seeing things?

And yes, here’s Gazza’s goal.

Italy, champions in 2021, begin their defence against Albania tonight. Here’s Nicky Bandini on their build-up.

Kevin Campbell scored better, more important goals but I’ll always remember this one against Nottingham Forest, which I think was his first for Arsenal. The thrill of potential, the infinite possibility of youth. And the joy shared by another absolute blessing of a man taken far too soon, David Rocastle.

Kevin Campbell dies aged 54

Any idea what the top four are?

Never mind Lamine Yamal, there are 621 other players at Euro 2024. Read all about them.

The morning after is the solemn subject of Simon McMahon’s email.

Morning Rob. I had the most awful dream last night, in which a Scotland side who qualified for these Euros with two games to spare, and who harboured genuine hopes of an upset in the opening game against the hosts Germany, were battered from the first minute to the last, conceding five times, having a man sent off and looking so far off the pace that any hopes of becoming the first Scotland team to make it beyond the group stage in a finals tournament seems like, well, another dream. An impossible one. But, hey, Switzerland and Hungary are beatable, right? We can’t play that badly again, right? Four points should still do it, right? We’ve been here before, right? We’re not out yet, right? We can still do it, right?

They can still do it! Last night was miserable but it wasn’t as damaging as Peru or Costa Rica. Scotland could easily take four points from the last two games, which would be enough to get through.

Spain v Croatia is the second game of the day, and the first in a cracking group that also includes Italy and Albania. Here’s Sid Lowe on the remarkable Lamine Yamal, who should become the first 16-year-old to play in the male Euros.

(We can’t call it the men’s Euros when he’s 16, can we.)

Last night’s opening game went swimmingly on and off the pitch. Here’s what the tournament director, my colleague Philipp Lahm, had to say.

The fan zones were full. The atmosphere in the stadium was outstanding. Both anthems gave us goose bumps. And even the weather played along. It was dry and bright and people were able to celebrate outside. That’s how it should be, that’s how I wanted it to be.

[Germany] haven’t been this strong and clear for a long time. The outstanding control of the game in the first half was decisive for that. The division of roles between Toni Kroos and Ilkay Gündogan was a good fit

Kroos was the quarter-back who pays close attention to the distances to the centre-backs, who increases the pressure and takes it off at the right moment. With Gündogan, what you know from Man City came into play. He can hold the ball between the lines in an attacking position and is therefore a very good preparer. This axis worked well for the first time.

Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala are very strong individualists who create a lot of goal threat. You also have to mention Kai Havertz. Germany have a strong attacking trio – plus the joker Niclas Füllkrug.

I’m impressed by the first game. If the German team can find their feet over the course of the tournament, they can also hold their own against stronger opponents. There is every reason to be optimistic.

Football, said Alan Hudson, is the working man’s ballet. It’s also the working man’s madeleine.

Away from the Euros, some awful news: Millwall and Montenegro goalkeeper Matija Sarkic has died at the age of 26. He reportedly fell ill in an apartment in the town of Budva this morning.

Germany were fantastic last night, with a lovely balance of delicate footballers, unsentimental ballwinners and canny … look I can’t use the word raumdeuters, because it’s too early to make a bid for Pseuds Corner, but equally it knackers the rhythm of the sentence if I say ‘canny players who take up great positions between the lines’. Ach, you know what I mean. They were really good, as is this piece from Jonathan Liew.

Preamble