Brave Scotland left adrift after a gallant effort

Scotland 2 Germany 3: Scotland would probably have settled for two goals against the world champions before this Euro 2016 Group D qualifier kicked off but, crucially, the three they conceded leaves them behind Ireland in the playoff hunt.

A gallant display from the Scots at Hampden Park last night saw them twice peg Joachim Low’s outfit back to parity in a scintillating first-half but Ilkay Gundogan, the one change from the starting team which beat Poland, kept the Germans atop of Group D with the winner on 53 minutes.

After Friday’s defeat in Georgia, further signals of concern emerged from the Scotland camp at lunchtime yesterday as Gordon Strachan’s starting team which had just been announced to the players was leaked online.