Scotland vs. Germany: Score and Reaction from Euro 2016 Qualifier

Germany defeated Scotland 3-2 in their Euro 2016 Group D encounter on Monday night in a pulsating affair at Hampden Park.

Goals from Thomas Muller (2) and Ilkay Gundogan were enough for the visitors, but a bizarre own goal by Mats Hummels and a fantastic strike by James McArthur gave the Scots hope of a result.

Scotland made three changes for the match at Hampden, with Grant Hanley, McArthur and James Forrest replacing Andy Robertson, Ikechi Anya and Steven Naismith. Germany made one change from the win over Poland, with Gundogan brought in for Karim Bellarabi.

BBC Scotland's Tom English questioned one of Gordon Strachan's tactical decisions:

Germany dictated the tempo in the opening minutes, with Manchester United's Bastian Schweinsteiger controlling the centre of the pitch. And it was the world champions who took the early advantage, as Muller gave his side the lead. 

The Bayern Munich attacker dribbled through the heart of the Scotland midfield, and his deflected shot found the bottom corner of the net. Football reporter Alistair Watson reminded us that Muller has done this before:

Bleacher Report UK celebrated Muller's 29th strike for his country:

However, Germany were not celebrating for long, as the Scots hit back to send Hampden into rapture. A Shaun Maloney free-kick was nervously palmed away by Manuel Neuer, whose save smashed into Hummels and into the net. 

Sky Sports tweeted an image of the ball crossing the line:

Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images

The Scots were in the ascendancy in the latter part of the half, with the home fans singing for their lives, creating a unique atmosphere—but in typical German fashion, the visitors grabbed the lead just after the half-hour mark, once again through Muller.

A sweeping move from left to right found Liverpool's Emre Can, and his deflected effort found the head of Muller, who nodded past goalkeeper David Marshall. 

Journalist Stefan Bienkowski looked toward the positives despite the Scots surrendering parity in quick time:

Mario Gotze found the back of the net shortly before half-time, but the Munich player was clearly offside, making it an easy judgement for the officials. 

The Scottish crowd continued to cheer their team on, and their side responded, putting Germany under pressure. And Hampden once again exploded in noise after McArthur powered home past Neuer from the edge of the area.

A Maloney corner was headed out to McArthur, who steered his side-footed shot on target past the flailing German stopper in the dying seconds of the half. 

Squawka.com called the score in a breathless game:

However, WhoScored.com highlighted the statistical difference between the two teams:

The Herald's Martin Williams was clearly enthused by the 45 minutes of pulsating football he had witnessed:

BT Sport's Ian Darke praised Scotland's team for giving the World Cup holders a first-half battle:

Germany came out for the second half in a controlled fashion, looking very calm on the ball. And they only needed eight minutes to wrest back the lead, as Muller once again played a pivotal role. The striker found his way behind the Scotland defence and steered his pass into the path of Gundogan, who slotted the ball in the net.

James Morrison earned himself a yellow card for a late tackle on Schweinsteiger and was fortunate not to see red just a minute later for a kick at Toni Kroos. 

Strachan brought on the exciting Anya on the hour mark as his team hunted for a third equaliser of the night. 

IAN MACNICOL/Getty Images

The Germans continued to look the more effective unit, but the Scots counterpunched like a boxer on the ropes, taking wild swings in attack when they obtained possession. But the host's defence looked increasingly ragged as Muller further penetrated, and a fourth looked on the cards. 

Scotland continued to dig away and create on the front foot, but the effort was in vain, as Germany defended in numbers and secured their victory.

In the end, German pedigree won out over Scottish heart, but the world champions will know they've been in a match. Arguably, this was tougher than any game they played at the World Cup, but the Scots need to find technical quality to match their bravery. 

Scotland will be proud of their effort, but the defeat sees their Euro 2016 hopes in tatters. The loss in Georgia is hard to take after such a wonderful performance against Germany, but they will regret the points they dropped earlier in the campaign.  

Germany remain at the top of Group D, two points clear of Poland. 

Post-Match Reaction

Scotland boss Strachan was fiercely proud of his boys' efforts on Monday, and said he believes there is still everything to play for, per Williams: 

Scotland host Poland in their next qualifier on Oct. 8, with Germany travelling to the Republic of Ireland on the same day in an attempt to wrap up the group.