15 June 2024 , 16:27
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Micah Richards has claimed hosts Germany are "dark horses" to win Euro 2024, with Gary Lineker ridiculing his claim.
Richards made the claim after Germany, who have won the tournament three times, thrashed Scotland 5-1 in their opener. Goals from Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz, Niclas Fullkrug and Emre Can earned Julian Nagelsmann's side a dominant victory.
And in reaction to the win on The Rest is Football podcast, Richards claimed: "Germany, I think they're dark horses." Lineker then responded, stating that Germany are "never dark horses" given their pedigree.
Richards, though, doubled down on his stance, adding: "But they are, though. Would Germany have been in your top three before the tournament started? Probably not. So you'd have to agree they're dark horses."
However, Lineker quickly pointed out: "I actually said England, Portugal and then Germany." But both Richards and Alan Shearer then questioned why Lineker had not gone for France or Spain, with the former England striker brushing off their comments.
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Shearer, though, was hugely impressed by Germany's dominance against Scotland, branding it an "almost perfect" performance. "What I would say is it's been almost a perfect night for them," he said.
"You've had Musiala put in a great performance for them. You've got [Toni] Kroos who was superb, you've had Havertz scoring. And then when they make changes, Fullkrug comes on, he scores, Can comes on, he scores.
Germany thumped Scotland 5-1 in their tournament opener (Alexander Hassenstein)"So everything is almost perfect for them there tonight. They were really impressive and that's all you can do as a player and a country." And player of the match Musiala echoed Shearer's comments after the win.
"We definitely felt some pressure before the game, but this is such a good feeling," the Bayern Munich star told reporters. "The own goal at the end hurts a little bit; otherwise it was the perfect game."