The European Championship begins with the match of host Germany against Scotland. The Allianz Arena in Munich will be the stage for the match that will start a schedule that ends on July 14, when the champion will be known.
Although they play with the public and history against them, Scotland is confident of causing an upset. It is expected that around 200,000 Scots, known for being one of the noisiest fans, with their bagpipes, beers and kilts, will travel. “No Scotland, no party”, says the song that has already become their anthem.
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They also made their presence felt in the last big opening match they played: the start of the 1998 World Cup in France against Brazil. The Seleção had just won the title in the United States in 1994 and, at the time, the reigning champion was always responsible for opening a World Cup.
At the 4th minute, César Sampaio broke the tie at the Stade de France, north of Paris. The midfielder anticipated everyone at the first post and connected a corner kick taken by Bebeto.
Everything seemed to indicate that it would be a historic rout of the team led by Mário Lobo Zagallo, who had Rivaldo, Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Cafu, Dunga and Taffarel among his stars. However, before the end of that first half, the Scots equalized through a penalty converted by John Collins, a former player of Monaco and Everton.
But luck accompanied Brazil that afternoon. Cafu made one of his offensive projections on the right, shot inside the small area and the ball was blocked by the goalkeeper, although it then bounced off defender Tom Boyd and ended up in the net.
It was a 2-1 final victory for the Brazilian national team, who would later lose the final to host France. Scotland finished last in Group A, although their supporters never stopped bringing the party to the stadiums where they played.
