Cologne ready to welcome friendly Tartan Army invasion

DUESSELDORF, Germany : Tens of thousands of kilt-wearing Scottish soccer fans will invade the German city of Cologne on Wednesday but local residents need not fear - they come in peace.

The Tartan Army has been out in force since the start of Euro 2024, sinking industrial volumes of German beer and generally living up to the chant "no Scotland, no party".

Wednesday's Group A game against Switzerland will see the biggest coming together of the Tartan Army for years - with an organised march to the stadium ahead of kickoff.

The Fan Walk, given the green light by Cologne's police, will begin from Josef-Lammerting-Allee at 1830 local time and follow a 1.7km route along closed roads to the stadium well in time for the 2100 kickoff.

As many as 60 bagpipers and drummers will lead the tartan procession along the route which organisers say is generally flat with temporary toilets provided - an important consideration for those well-lubricated after a day of drinking.

"We'd ask supporters to be considerate of the residents on the route and make use of these please," a message read on the website of the Association of Tartan Army Clubs.

Scotland's Tartan Army, made up of hundreds of individual clubs throughout Scotland and across the world with names such Garden Shed Tartan Army and Burst Balloons Tartan Army, have been sadly absent from tournaments for the past two decades.

The national team have not appeared at the World Cup since 1998 and although they did qualify for Euro 2020, two of their games were in Glasgow and one at Wembley - all three overshadowed by COVID-19 restrictions on fan numbers.

FITBA AND FUN

Which is why when Steve Clarke's team wrapped up qualification for the Germany showpiece with two games remaining, the kilts and