Scotland remain rooted to foot of Nations League table following Germany defeat

Scotland’s struggles continued in their Women’s Nations League Group A1 campaign with a 4-0 home defeat to Germany.

Michael McArdle’s side got off to a nightmare start in Dundee when Germany’s Elisa Senss scored inside the first minute to set the tone for a one-sided affair.

After Sophie Howard’s own goal put the visitors 2-0 up at the break, Cora Zicai and Lea Schuller scored within three minutes of each other just before the hour to seal Germany’s victory and leave Scotland rooted to the foot of the table.

Scotland, who have now lost three on the spin, could hardly have made a worse start against a Germany side looking to remain ahead of the Netherlands at the top of the standings.

An early short corner eventually made its way to Senss on the edge of the area and she rocketed an unstoppable effort into the top left corner of the net to stun the hosts at Tannadice.

Scotland’s troubles increased in the 21st minute when Howard put through her own net, and Germany made it 3-0 in the 57th minute when they took advantage of some sloppy play by Caroline Weir for Zicai to fire in off the post.

It was 4-0 soon after as Germany turned the screw. Schuller was too quick for Scotland’s high-line as she surged in behind and finished low into the bottom corner to wrap up an emphatic win on the road, with the teams meeting again in Wolfsburg on Tuesday.