AROUND 30,000 Tartan Army foot soldiers are lighting up Cologne as they march to the skirl of the pipes amid incredible pre-match scenes today.
The foot-daft troops have gathered together in enormous numbers to sing their way to the RheinEnergieStadion stadium for tonight’s Scotland v Switzerland clash.
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It is the culmination of a thrilling build-up ahead of the big match as fans give their trademark world-famous backing to Steve Clarke’s men.
Many carried huge flags as they donned kilts and Scotland jerseys in an amazing display of passion and colour.
Fans began gathering at Josef-Lammerting-Allee at around 4pm as they prepared to walk 1.2 miles to the stadium in the march which kicked off at 6.30pm.
The huge group is being led by a group of volunteer bagpipers and drummers in the brilliant spectacle.
Graeme Shinnie, an administrator for the Tartan Army Facebook group, took to social media to share the details of the march.
Posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, he explained that roads across Cologne are officially closed for the event after negotiations between fan groups and German authorities.
The Cologne people just love the Scots
Stefan Knelborn
Earlier in the day the area around Cologne Cathedral and Alter Markt became a sea of blue and white as fans, many arriving on the day, poured in from the city’s main station.
Fans booted balls around and mingled with Swiss supporters as well as fans of other teams swept up in the party atmosphere.
Little Bobby Anderson showed the passion every Tartan Army fan hoped Clarke’s men would show as they prepared for glory against Switzerland.
The footie-daft youngster, six, blasted a ball around as he soaked up the electric moment with his family.
The lad was seen charging around in his kilt firing thunderbolts into the crowd amid songs and cheers from thousands of Scots fans.
Dad John, 42, mum Alison and wee sisters Bonnie, three, and Carly, one, were also cheering him on as he showed the team how it should be done.
Proud John, from Turiff, said: “We decided to turn the trip into a family holiday and he is having the time of his life.”
After the deluges of Tuesday, supporters of a host of countries came out to enjoy the sunny weather in North Rhein Westfalia.
And, just as they did in Munich, the Tartan Army won the hearts and minds of locals with their singing, drinking and spontaneous acts of kindness.
We are all celebrating together… The atmosphere in Cologne is fantastic. Everyone is so friendly.
Miya Kelly
A video of two Scots fans helping an old man with a trolley across a city square – one holding a brolly over her head – has gone viral across Germany.
Stefan Knelborn, a 36-year-old Cologne City communications official, said: ”The Cologne people just love the Scots.
“Bagpipe and Highland music has been part of our culture for years and ‘Loch Lomond’ is the fan anthem of my team FC Koln.
“So it is not surprising that people have gone nuts when they saw that image of the old lady in the Alter Markt.
“As well as getting 50,000 hits on Instagram, some people have moved quickly to produce cards of the image.”
Today has proven to be another masterclass in the Tartan Army public relations handbook. Fans are held in such high regard, it’s possible some could walk across the Rhine.
Cologne’s old town rang to the sound of “No Scotland, No Party” and the ear-worm chant “Super John McGinn.”
The Alter Markt began filling up late in the morning and by the afternoon police took the decision to close the Alter Markt, the ancient square near Cologne’s cathedral.
With thousands of Scots and Swiss inside, it was deemed unsafe to let in any more fans.
German supporters were forced to make a detour to the official fan zone, where the country’s game against Hungary was being screened to fans without tickets.
We decided to turn the trip into a family holiday and he is having the time of his life
John Anderson
As well as the Scotland v Switzerland match, the host nation Germany was playing Hungary at tea-time.
This meant that the designated fan zones, which were closed by bad weather on Tuesday, were being occupied by Germans, Swiss and Scots who did not have match tickets for the Energie Arena.
A lone piper won applause for his poignant rendition of ‘Highland Cathedral’.
Sporting bunny ears in Germany colours, Sylvia Bruck, from Cologne, introduced herself to four Tartan Army chaps from Fife, David Marshall, Lee Bruce, Scott Dunnell and Chris Neilson.
Things went like clockwork for Miya Kelly, a body shop receptionist from Bathgate in West Lothian.
Posing with a bunch of Swiss fans, Miya, 24, said: “We are all celebrating together – but that’s before the game!
‘Selling like hot cakes’
A SMART-thinking Tartan Army businessman brought a little bit of Scotland to Germany by punting bottles of Buckfast in the Cologne party zone.
Allan Sheridan, 30, from Bellshill, Lanarkshire, shipped in a haul of the famous tonic wine loved by his fellow Scots ahead of tonight’s crunch match with Switzerland.
He set up shop just yards from the Alter Markt where a steady stream of foot soldiers couldn’t resist splashing some Euros on the sweet plonk.
Allan, who runs an exterior cleaning firm Aqua Force, said: “They’ve been selling like hot cakes.”
He added: “I’ve come all the way to Germany to try and keep the nation hydrated.
“They’ve been going well and I’ve sold a few cases and we will hopefully get rid of the rest today.
“We brought about 50 cases and travelled 1,500 miles in the van.”
Read more here.
“The atmosphere in Cologne is fantastic. Everyone is so friendly.”
After Munich ran out of beer last week, thirsty Scots cleared the Corkonian Bar of vodka on Tuesday.
Bosses thought they had enough stocks to get by but the Scots proved them wrong.
Meanwhile, some of the biggest cheers of the day belonged to four friends from Fribourg in Switzerland.
Patrick Guerry and three chums turned up in ‘See You Jimmy’ hats and tartan shorts.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
Patrick, 63, laughed: “Of course we had to dress like this in honour of Scotland’s national dress.
“Your guys are class, class, class.”
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