'Don't worry England fans - I missed out on Musiala too'

I could not person asked for a amended commencement to Euro 2024 - speaking arsenic a German, a pundit and a shot fan.

I person enjoyed each 2nd truthful far, from nan tourney opener successful Munich to my travels to watch games successful Dortmund, Dusseldorf and now Leipzig.

It’s been astonishing to acquisition games successful truthful galore different cities already, and meet truthful galore different people. The shot has delivered excessively and, truthful far, it has felt for illustration nan statement that everyone wanted to hap is really here.

For tons of reasons, Germany’s triumph complete Scotland connected Friday was very special, and nan full time was precisely what I was hoping for from a fan’s position - friendly, serene and a awesome atmosphere.

I went to nan crippled pinch a friend who is Scottish and, though I had to cheer him up because he was rather depressed aft nan first half, nan beauty of it was that nan consequence did not alteration thing astir really nan tens of thousands of Scotland fans successful Munich behaved afterwards.

As for Germany, good everything fell into place. The squad put connected their champion capacity truthful acold nether Julian Nagelsmann, and Scotland conscionable were not fresh for it.

Like astir German fans, I felt Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala would beryllium cardinal to our hopes astatine these Euros, and they were our 2 outstanding players against Scotland.

I cognize location is simply a batch of talk backmost successful England astir really they missed retired connected Musiala - who grew up successful London, was successful Chelsea’s academy and played for England astatine younker level - but I person to admit I missed retired connected him arsenic well.

During nan 2018-19 play I was caput of Stuttgart’s academy and made nan travel to England to watch him, because location were rumours Musiala was consenting to time off Chelsea and that you could motion him.

He had a relationship to Stuttgart, because his mother is from nan area and he was calved successful nan city, truthful I went to spot him play for Chelsea’s academy against Brighton.

I will ne'er hide it, because I went backmost to Germany reasoning that, successful possession, he was interesting, and had thing astir him – but without nan ball, he conscionable switched off. He conscionable didn’t way back.

We kept watching him, but it wasn’t a lawsuit wherever you spot a subordinate and instantly deliberation we request to do everything to get him.

That’s what I ever deliberation nan beauty of scouting is because, of people now, everyone would opportunity that it was ever clear he would go a ace player.

But that day, while I thought we should support an oculus retired for him, it was not evident that he would decidedly go a Champions League subordinate aliases afloat international.

The representation of scouting Musiala makes maine grin because he joined Bayern not agelong aft and we could ne'er person competed pinch them to motion him anyway.

Then a fewer years later I was watching nan Champions League, and location is Musiala. I thought 'that’s nan aforesaid subordinate I watched successful Chelsea’s academy' and I could not judge really acold he had come.

Now, each crippled I watch him is axenic pleasure. He is not 1 of those academy players who conscionable plays a definite style of football. Of people he has gone done immoderate apical academies, but he is different.

If you look astatine his physique he does not guidelines retired arsenic personification pinch phenomenal gait aliases unthinkable spot but, erstwhile he is connected nan ball, he does things hardly anyone other tin do.

His qualities that guidelines retired are his method and knowing of nan game, positive nan bravery to woody pinch dense tackles, return players connected and find solutions successful tight areas - I person not seen that from a German subordinate for many, galore years.

While I had seen capable of Musiala and Wirtz successful nan past that I was not amazed to spot them execute astatine specified a precocious level against Scotland, I wasn’t judge what to expect from nan remainder of nan Germany players.

But nan group astir them besides delivered. It was an fantabulous all-round squad performance, and location was thing different compared to what we saw successful our friends games pinch Ukraine and Greece earlier nan Euros started.

This time, location was an urgency astir our play that was beautiful evident to see, whether we were successful aliases retired of possession.

What happens without nan shot was an constituent we had been struggling pinch but, connected Friday, it was perfectly apical class. When we mislaid it, we won it backmost immediately.

It evidently helped that Scotland were down to 10 men for nan full 2nd half but moreover earlier past we smothered them and did not springiness them a infinitesimal to rest.

In beforehand of goal, too, we did everything right. We had controlled nan friends against Ukraine without being capable to score, but this clip we made our power count.

If we tin enactment astatine that level for nan adjacent 5 games past I americium super-confident we tin spell each nan measurement to nan final… but we person to beryllium realistic astir that.

We person raised nan barroom truthful high, but you person to retrieve we are not a broadside that has recovered these levels connected a regular ground yet, successful tourney football. We person shown what we are tin of, but location mightiness beryllium immoderate difficult moments ahead.

Thomas Hitzlsperger was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan successful Germany.