Germany thrashed Scotland 5-1 in the opening game of Euro 2024 as Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn had a night to forget.
Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn had a fantastic campaign at Villa Park and is now embarking on a Euro 2024 campaign with Scotland.
McGinn’s nation qualified for their second European Championship in a row and faced Germany on night one of the tournament.
Whilst the 29-year-old had an enjoyable season at Villa, qualifying for the Champions League, the start of Scotland’s Euro 2024 campaign couldn’t have gone any worse.
A 5-1 beating at the hands of hosts Germany, coupled with a Ryan Porteous red card, handed McGinn and the Tartan Army a night they’ll want to erase from their memory pretty quickly.
How John McGinn performed in the 5-1 defeat against Germany
McGinn completed 67 minutes on the field before being replaced by Kenny McLean and unfortunately, the Villa star didn’t paint himself in glory.
Normally an infectious ball-winning midfielder and a driving force for his club, his contributions against Germany were the complete opposite as the Scotsman struggled to leave his mark on the contest.
According to Sofascore, McGinn completed just eight passes in the match at a rate of 73%, displaced both of his attempted long balls, won two of seven contested ground duels and was dribbled past twice.
The Villa man looked a shadow of his former self, and whilst he wasn’t the worst performer on the pitch, he was still rated poorly by wide sections of the media.
The Independent handed McGinn a 4/10 match rating, describing him as ‘overwhelmed’ in midfield, a similar narrative shared by The Scotsman, who claimed he looked a ‘little jaded’ with GB News suggesting he ‘appeared off it’.
John McGinn feeling the affects of a long campaign with Aston Villa
McGinn was the driving force behind Emery’s success at Aston Villa last term as they reached a Europa Conference League semi-final and qualified for the 2024/25 Champions League.
The 67-cap international played a total of 53 games across the campaign and was often deployed in a taxing role where his energy and pressing ability were used to the maximum.
Emery sometimes used McGinn out wide or as a central figure of the team alongside Douglas Luiz.
A fully fit McGinn is one of the most energetic and vibrant players on the pitch however, his performance against Germany was the sign of someone who was feeling the affects of a gruelling campaign at his club.
He was uncharacteristically off the pace and ahead of their next two matches against Hungary and Switzerland, Steve Clarke will need McGinn at his best for them to stand any chance of reaching the knockout stages.
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