TARTAN Army troops have been astounded by strangers’ generosity once more, even after they had already enjoyed first-rate hospitality in Germany.

Gordon Bonnes was graciously given detailed instructions by his Airbnb host on how to get to the stadium from their doorstep while staying in Cologne with friends ahead of Wednesday’s Scotland vs. Switzerland match.

After the game, the Motherwell supporter was even more surprised by the hospitality shown to them when they returned home and discovered a stranger had left two complimentary drinks at their door.

The beers arrived with a kind message saying that they were from a stranger who saw Gordon’s social media post praising the Airbnb host and assumed the guys were staying close.

In addition to thanking the host for the printed directions, Gordon included a photo with his post that showed where he was staying.

Both Germans and Scots were warmed by the post, and a generous local decided to extend the boys a hearty welcome.

Gordon later shared a follow-up photo of the two

beers by the Airbnb along with a letter with a small Scotland flag written on it.

“I live about five minutes away, so I figured I could bring you a beer or two,” the letter says, in reference to your earlier tweet. Salutations, buddy.

Gordon, who was deeply moved by the gesture, posted the photo on social media yesterday and wrote: “Further development about last

People moved by the German’s generosity left more than 120 comments and over 18,000 likes on the post.

In response to Gordon’s article, the kind stranger who initiated the gesture wrote, “I didn’t know how [many] you guys were (sic) but glad you enjoyed it!”

Great, another user commented. Germans are incredibly polite and amiable.

“I won’t lie, the Germans fell in love with you Scots,” a third person said. You are always welcome.

“The people of Cologne are well known for being nice and friendly,” a second person retorted.

“Cologne is an amazing place with great people,” remarked the fifth person.

In anticipation of Scotland’s run in Euro 2024, a tourism director has referred to the Tartan Army as “fantastic ambassadors for Scotland” and expressed optimism that more tourists from host country Germany will travel to Scotland.

During Scotland’s participation in the tournament, over 200,000 Scottish supporters came to Germany to support their national side. VisitScotland, the nation’s tourism organisation, reported an 83% increase in website views from German users during this period.

14,925 German users were active on visitscotland.com between June 13 and June 23, up from 8,147 during the same period the previous year.

Pics of people wearing tartan Scotland fans cheering on their team in its first international competition since 1998 garnered international notice and were named the greatest supporters at this year’s tournament in a recent survey conducted by German media source RTL.

Malcolm Roughead, chief executive of VisitScotland, stated: “We firmly believe that the Tartan Army has served as outstanding representatives for Scotland and a tremendous source of support for our national side.

“Watching the scenes of Scotland supporters giving that iconic Scottish greeting and seeing such appreciation from the German supporters has been amazing.

We’ve seen a spike in German visitors to our website since the beginning of Euro 24, with visits nearly doubling over this time last year.

One of our most important international markets is Germany, where we spent £247 million and had 343,000 visits last year. According to our research, German tourists are drawn to Scotland because of its people, history, and landscapes—with Scotland supporters serving as a prime illustration of this.

“We’ll keep fostering this interest through our marketing initiatives, such as our most recent campaign, which focuses on important west German cities with high visitor demand and good access to Scotland.”

Over the course of the tournament, up to two million people are anticipated to view the mobile digital advertising campaign, which attempts to market Scotland as the ideal retreat for those looking to replace the football drama with breathtaking landscape.

In their second Euro 2024 Group A match, the Scots face the Swiss in Cologne in a game that might decide their fate.

Steve Clarke froze in place, gazing up at Germany’s highest mountain for a brief time as he took in the scenery.

In the picture-perfect ski resort of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Mount Zugspitze stands over Scotland’s training base. On a clear day like today, which there haven’t been many of these past few days, it is breathtakingly beautiful.

“This place is truly lovely, isn’t it?” remarked Scotland’s manager as the two of us took a quick stroll from the media centre to our separate hotels. There was just no way not to agree. Clarke said, winking and just barely grinning, “Well, let’s stay for a wee while longer then, eh?”

And as the realisation dawned, the national team manager may never have been more focused or assured than he is at this moment, ahead of a game that may perhaps define his entire career in the position.

Even if the crushing defeat they inflicted on Germany on the first night should have left them for dead, Clarke and his team will still be in the running for this tournament if they defeat Switzerland or even manage a draw against them in Cologne.

However, after spending the weekend back at the squad’s Bavarian base camp, Clarke seems to have slipped into an almost zen-like frame of mind. Over the course of Saturday, he booted some assholes and put an arm around some shoulders on Sunday after that enigmatic, horrifying malfunction in Munich.

Most importantly, though, is that Clarke seems to have found his own sense of self-belief again, even though the rest of the nation is still struggling with sentiments of significant doubt.

And, heaven forbid, a few of his own players as well.
When asked if the 5-1 drubbing at the Allianz, along with a dismal run of games leading up to this summer’s finals, would have given his team an inferiority complex at the worst possible time and place, Clarke responded coolly and said, “Maybe.”

“But we don’t have much time to get that back,” he continued. He’s also not joking.

Scotland, still nursing injuries, took off for a journey into Germany’s northwest yesterday, aware that they would not be able to survive another Group A loss in as many days.

Despite this, it seems as though Clarke is privy to information that the rest of us are not.

In order to restore their confidence, he went on, “it’s all about working on the mind. After that, we have to make sure that our tactics, bodies on the pitch, and style of play are all correct. That can instill a small amount of belief in them.

Naturally, we also want to get off to a strong start in the game, as we were not the best at it the other night. These tiny things can all add up. A professional football player who knows he’s a good player quickly regains his confidence.

We’ll be alright even if he appears a little nervous at first, as long as we play the Swiss game well and take appropriate action.

Either under dire circumstances or when a catastrophe seems imminent, he makes an excellent man manager. Or he’s a brilliant bluffer. We won’t have to wait long to find out in either case.

“We are chasing the clock on this one because the games come around so quickly,” admitted Clarke. However, we are fortunate to have an extra day to prepare because we were the first to play on Friday night.

This allows us a little more time to consider and refine our previous work before being ready for the next task. Thus, that works in our favour.

Since most of us have known one other for a very long time, it doesn’t take much to recall our goals and methods. Together, we don’t have any problems. I wouldn’t be seated here and the team would be led by someone else if we couldn’t collaborate effectively.

It will be someone else’s turn sooner than Clarke expects if he makes the same mistakes he did in Munich.

For example, considering the incomprehensible fashion in which Scotland gave over all midfield to their hosts, it is hard to imagine Billy Gilmour ever being the manager’s bench again.

But is Clarke prepared to acknowledge that that particular choice was the primary cause of that heartbreaking loss?

Alright, no. Not really.

With a shake of his head, Clarke stated, “It is tough to respond,” going on to say, “Is one guy really going to make that amount of difference in a 5-1 game where we were never in the game? Perhaps we are just placing too much pressure on Billy by bringing up the subject in that particular circumstance.

“Leave him enter the following game with a clear head if he is chosen. It is challenging. You are free to express yourself, and I will state that I don’t believe it changed anything. “Yes, it did make a difference,” you may respond. But regardless of how it turns out, we will never know the truth.

In actuality, though, all we know is that Switzerland entered the match on an unexpected high after surprising everyone by defeating Hungary 3-1 on Saturday to start their European campaign.

Even though they had a difficult time reaching to these finals, they are now seasoned tournament players and are already looking forward to the knockout phases, which usually occur for them on a clockwise basis.

“I thought they were really good the other night,” Clarke remarked. They seemed fine to me when I observed them in qualifying. They fulfilled the requirements.

You forget about Switzerland for a little while. They are, however, repeat qualifiers. And very invariably in the last eight or sixteen. They’re capable of doing it. They are aware of what to do.

They have speed up front and a fairly solid spine running through the middle of the club. This will be a challenging game.

When it was pointed out to Clarke, rather grimly, that Switzerland nearly always makes it to the final 16, that knowing smile almost burst out again.

With a nod, he acknowledged that it was true. So let’s endeavour to emulate Switzerland more!

Does that sound like a man who is prepared to leave and return home now?