Aston Villa star John McGinn lets Scotland down with shocker v Germany
Aston Villa captain John McGinn was left "chasing shadows" in Scotland's 5-1 defeat to Germany in the opening match of Euro 2024.
The Villa midfielder was unable to have any positive influence on the match whatsoever as the hosts trounced his 10-man Scotland side in Munich, with McGinn playing the first 67 minutes.
It was already 3-0 on the scoreboard by the time McGinn was withdrawn, and Niclas Fullkrug curled in a fourth for Germany barely 60 seconds later to help compound a miserable night for the Tartan Army.
Writing in the Daily Record, journalist Gavin Berry said; "this was a night when the Aston Villa man was left chasing shadows" and that he "simply couldn't get near the likes of Toni Kroos and Ilkay Gundogan."
Anonymous McGinn must do better in next Scotland matches
Although by no means Scotland's worst player on the night, McGinn's 6.0 SofaScore rating shows just how dismal a performance he and his team-mates put in at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
One of the main areas in which Germany truly outclassed the Scots was in midfield, where McGinn lined up on the right-hand side in a 5-4-1 formation which proved powerless to stop the hosts' onslaught.
As mentioned by Berry, Kroos and Gundogan ran the show, with McGinn winning just two of his eight attempted duels (25 per cent) and being dispossessed eight times in the match.
Scotland had just two touches in the German box and a meagre 27 per cent possession, leading to McGinn having just 20 touches in 67 minutes and completing just eight of 11 attempted passes.
The Villa skipper's Premier League numbers suggested he could cause Germany problems, but McGinn didn't attempt a shot, failed with two attempted long balls, and generated 0.0 expected goals and assists.
McGinn had a solitary interception to show for his defensive numbers, but was still dribbled past twice, and like the rest of his Scottish compatriots, the Villa man will be looking to put an opening-night horror show behind him and turn all attention towards their match against Switzerland on 19 June.
For more Aston Villa news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.