Scotland has a German defender on their special Euro roster.

Antonio Rudiger, a midfielder, became one of Scotland’s greatest scorers in Euro history yesterday when his own goal in Germany’s 5-1 victory made history.

On June 14, the evening in Munich, Scotland managed to score a goal against goalkeeper Manuel Neuer after missing the mark once in the ninety minutes. With a 4-0 lead in the 87th minute, Scott McKenna’s header that struck Antonio Rudiger and found the back of the net allowed the visiting team to cut the deficit. The German defender believes this to be an own goal.

Before Euro 2024, no player had ever scored more than two goals in the European Championships, and Scotland had only scored five goals in three games. Scotland was eliminated in the group stage at the 1992 European Championship after losing 1-0 to the Netherlands, 2-0 to Germany, and 3-0 to the Soviet Union. Scottish players Paul McStay, Brian John McClair, and Gary McAllister scored goals against the Soviet Union.

By the time of Euro 1996, Scotland had managed just one goal; through Ally McCoist’s heroics, they had drawn 0-0 with the Netherlands, lost 0-2 to England, and won 1-0 against Switzerland. Scotland was knocked out of the group stage of Euro 2020 after managing just one goal. They drew 0-0 with England, fell 0-2 to the Czech Republic, and lost 1-3 to Croatia, with Callum William McGregor, a 31-year-old midfielder who also started in yesterday’s defeat to Germany, scoring the lone goal.

Consequently, Rudiger “entered the list of players who scored the most goals for Scotland in Euro history,” the AS newspaper humorously remarked.