Euro 2024 first-game overreactions: Can anyone stop Germany? - ESPN

All of the teams in Euro 2024 have played their first games, and they gave us a bit of everything we could want.

Five teams scored at least three goals, and Germany scored five. Fans from Albania and Georgia, immense underdogs, each got to thunderously celebrate goals, one of which came just 23 seconds into Albania's match with Italy. Another underdog, Slovakia, got to celebrate a huge win over Belgium. England got to both win and be miserable, two things they very much enjoy.

If you're a fan of last-minute fireworks, we got all we could want in Group F, with Georgia nearly scoring to tie Turkey before giving up an empty netter to fall 3-1 and Francisco Conceição scoring in the second minute of added time to finally pull Portugal ahead of the Czech Republic. (And if you're a fan of slapstick, we even got three own goals!)

The first round of matches at the 2024 European Championships was an absolute delight even if it didn't change a whole lot about the competition. The betting favorites before the tournament — England, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain — remain the favorites, and Belgium was the only even moderate favorite to lose.

But let's overreact anyway. It's fun. Here are some takeaways from the first 12 matches of Euro 2024.

Germany's 5-1 win over Scotland was the stuff overreactions were made for. We got used to seeing demonstrative opening statements from Germany — 8-0 vs. Saudi Arabia at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, 4-0 vs. Australia in 2010, 4-0 vs. Portugal in 2014 — back when they were the most reliable and consistent country in the sport. Now, as they look for footing again after a number of stumbles, they produce a resounding, retro performance. And in front of a thrilled home crowd, no less.

Against a Scotland