KAI Havertz last night sent a chilling message to Germany’s rivals for the Henri Delaunay trophy when he stated the 5-1 win over Scotland in the Euro 2024 opener in the Allianz Arena on Friday night was “just the start”.

Havertz and his team mates blew Andy Robertson and his countrymen away in the tournament curtain raiser in Munich in front of a sell-out crowd of 75,000 on Friday night.

However, the Arsenal forward, who converted a penalty in added-on time at the end of the first-half to put Julian Nagelsmann’s charges three ahead, thinks the hosts can improve even further in the coming weeks.

His declaration of intent should give Scotland a glimmer of hope they can reach the last 16 because Germany still have to play Group A rivals Switzerland and Hungary. 

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“I hope there is more to come,” he said. “Obviously when you win 5-1 it is a statement. But it is just the start and you can see how much quality there is in the team, how many good players that we have. 

“Although Scotland were a very good team with a great coach, the opponents are going to get tougher. It was actually a tough match. But as you go further and further into a tournament, the matches get harder and harder. We keep on going, train good, sleep good. And play with confidence.

“We had a lot of energy on the pitch, it was a great feeling with all the fans and the atmosphere. At the moment the energy is very good after such a great win. Energy is good, but in the end energy leaves very quickly after a bad result in the quarter finals.”

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Havertz added: “So we have to see what happens in the next few weeks but I think this squad is very good, this squad has very talented players but also we are in a good ‘construction’ in a good ‘connection’.

“But it’s easy to talk positively after such a win. There was great energy but it’s not about energy it’s about getting three points. This is very important. In the last few years there has been good energy but we remember the bad results.

“We remember that so don’t be too happy, don’t celebrate too much - we must stay focused. It is not good enough just to have good feelings. There is no sense behind good feelings, if you go and lose the quarter final. We just need to win.”

(Image: PA)