Ian Maxwell predicts '100,000' Scotland fans for Euro 2024 opener as Tartan Army prepare to invade Germany

SFA chief Ian Maxwell expects a crazy ticket scramble for Scotland’s Euro 2024 opener – and says 100,000 Tartan Army fans could descend on Germany.

Steve Clarke’s side were paired with the host nation at last night’s draw in Hamburg, along with Hungary and Switzerland in Group A. The Scots will kick off the tournament against Germany in Munich on June 14 in front of a 70,000 crowd. The official Scotland Supporters Club will receive 10,000 briefs for the clash with host nation.

But Maxwell believes there could be 10 times that number trying to be there. The chief executive said: “The way my phone is buzzing it will be pretty desperate – trust me. UEFA have said we will get 10,000 tickets and they will be on sale to club members later this week. Fans will be scrambling to buy tickets, get flights, organise hotels and do other things. But it’s a great problem to have.

“How many Scotland fans will be there? I honestly don’t know. Certainly tens of thousands .. whether we get to hundreds of thousands, who knows?

“You would think our opponents will sell all their allocations. If not there are a lot of Scots who will quite happily take tickets. Could we get more? That is a conversation for UEFA. We will take huge numbers and they will all have a fantastic time.”

Scotland play the Swiss in Cologne on June 19 and Hungary in Stuttgart on June 23. With four third-placed teams qualifying from the groups to the last-16, Clarke’s men have a genuine chance to progress. Maxwell added: “It is a fantastic honour to be playing in the opening game.

“Everyone talks about France ‘98 against Brazil and remembers it fondly. It’s also good to play teams who are fresh [to us]such as Germany, Hungary and Switzerland.

“It will be a big game for