The party is over for the Tartan Army

No Scotland, No Party. This is the national anthem heard in stadiums and streets wherever the Tartan army travels in Germany.

But now the party is over. The team’s exit from Euro 2024, confirmed in dramatic fashion by Hungary’s 100th-minute winner, was difficult for the traveling fans to take.

A post mortem has been carried out as thousands of them left the stadium after the final whistle.

“Too careful,” “not prepared to win football” were among his verdicts.

“We’ve been here before many, many times, but we’ll be here again,” said another fed up with Scotland’s latest failed attempt to reach the knockout stages of a major tournament.

In the middle of Stuttgart – the third and final stop on this German adventure – there was an equal mix of disappointment, anger and deja vu as fans fled from the big screens showing the match.

Ewan Brown from Kirkcaldy, just arrived in town on Eve from the game with his teenage son Jamie.

“We haven’t been here for too long but it’s been good…… until that result,” Jamie told me.

“It’s really disappointing” his father said. “The threat of an attack is not enough. It makes you feel like you can do more.

Rewind a few hours and hope that this time will be different.

After the disappointment of Munich and a 5-1 defeat by hosts Germany in their opening match, a 1-1 draw with Switzerland in Cologne restored their confidence and set them up for the match against Hungary in Stuttgart.

Such is the importance of the match that Scotland fans face a long and anxious wait for kick off.

“Very nervous” replied Charley Donaldson when asked how he felt this morning.

By way of distraction, the 27-year-old from Wishaw has opted for a football alternative, traveling to the suburbs to watch the Tartan Army take on a fan team from Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart.

“It takes the pressure off waiting for the game,” he told me. “It’s already nine o’clock!”

Back in the city center at noon, the fan takeover was underway.

With helicopters circling overhead and a heavy police presence in the area, Scotland supporters spread out on the steps overlooking the Schlossplatz and filled the bars lining the nearby streets.

Part of the crowd was Ally Mo, a 59-year-old from Keith who has followed Scotland to every major tournament since the 1986 World Cup.

“I think it’s about 120 away games,” he told me. “Now I’m starting to shake. It’s massive.

Exactly 50 years ago David Watson traveled to Germany to follow Scotland in the 1974 World Cup.

The 70-year-old from Ayr returned this year with his son Stuart and grandsons Mikey (12) and David (10) to start his Tartan Army journey.

“This is the biggest day I’ve had in six tournaments. It’s the last day of the game hoping to qualify,” he said.

“You’re doing this optimistically, but I’m all over the world watching Scotland find different ways to fail to qualify, so who knows?”

In the days leading up to the Hungary match, one potential challenge for Scotland fans without tickets has been finding a place to watch.

With Germany versus Switzerland being shown in the main fan zone – commencing – an additional viewing area was set up for Scotland fans in the adjacent park.

Despite concerns that the Stadtgarten facility was not large enough, organizers insisted that it could handle 25,000 people.

By mid-afternoon the drinks stands and hotspot toilets were doing a roaring trade as DJs worked their way through the Tartan Army songbook.

For a few hours the event takes on the atmosphere of a music festival.

However, at the time the big screen showed the Scottish team taking to the Pitch that high spirit was replaced by a sense of tension, each nervous to see in action.

Plockton’s Iona Maclennan was not happy with what she saw in a goalless first half.

“I was really optimistic at first, but now I’m not.”

“We just have to be patient and the goals will come,” analyzed his more optimistic son Fraser.

The goal is to come. Just not for Scotland.

Afterwards, the disgruntled supporters took to the streets to rub shoulders with their German counterparts who were celebrating the hosts’ qualification for the knockout stages.

The Tartan Army waited a long time.

The party is over. It was time to go home.