Scotland under 19s produced a fantastic victory at Firhill against Germany which sees them finish top of group three. A solitary goal from Josh McPake at the end of the first half was enough for the under 19s to progress to the next stage of qualifying as they look to book a place at the 2020 UEFA Euro Under 19s Championship.

A cagey start from both teams saw Germany have more possession in the opening stages, however none of their chances honestly threatened the Scotland goal early on.

As Germany continued to press they saw a Leon Dajaku shot blocked before Lazar Samardzic headed from in the box, however 6'6" Archie Mair collected easily. Scotland begun to come into the game more with good balls in from Josh McPake and Harrison Ashby, however the German defence had things covered.

Things heated up after a brief scuffle after a challenge between Chris Hamilton and Leon Dajaku, with both players ending up in the referees book. However both teams continued to struggle to make the breakthrough.

That was until just before half time, when Josh McPake slotted home a fantastically worked play for Scotland. A free kick which was cleared came to Dean Campbell just outside the box who played a beautiful reverse ball past the German defence to the feet of McPake.

The hard work wasn't finished however as McPake sized past Dynamo Dresden defender Kevin Ehlers, before deceiving the goalkeeper and shooting from a tight angle to open the scoring. The goal marked McPake's first goal for the under 19s, with the Rangers youth player currently on loan at Dundee shining throughout qualifying so far.

Scotland's goal at the end of the first half spurred them on to push for a second goal. An early Leon Dajaku shot for Germany went well over the bar and that was to be the closest they would come until the closing stages as Scotland threatened to increase their advantage throughout the rest of the half.

A free kick from Kai Kennedy at the edge of the box hit the post on the hour mark, with a touch from keeper Ramaj proving crucial to stop Scotland from getting a second. Good play in midfield from Harrison Ashby saw Scotland continue to push forward and they came close twice from corners with Dapo Mebude and captain Marc Leonard both seeing efforts blocked by the German defence. 

The second very nearly came on the 70th minute after Dapo Mebude played a fantastic through ball to Aberdeen youngster Ethan Ross. However, a fantastic last ditch defensive challenge in the box by Frederik Jakel stopped Ross from getting a shot away at the last second. Ross and fellow Scottish players gesticulated as they felt the challenge warranted a penalty, however Jakel's slight touch on the ball saw a corner result. 

As the final whistle neared Germany started to press for a much needed equaliser. Chances from the edge of the box by Noah Katterbach and Mick Gudra proved a small test for Archie Mair however the Norwich youth keeper had it covered. Germany's biggest opportunity for an equaliser came on the 90th minute when a corner swung in found Leon Schade with a free header on the edge of the six yard box, however he wasted his opportunity and headed over the bar.

One final penalty claim came as Katterbach went down in the area close to Harrison Ashby, however he was perhaps lucky not to receive a yellow card from the referee with the German clearly simulating his fall in an attempt to search for a German equaliser.

In the end Scotland brilliantly held on in a game which they went into as clear second favourites. The result sees them top group three ahead of Germany, who will progress with them to elite round of qualifying before the championships in Northern Ireland next year, whilst Belarus and Andorra will not progress past the first qualifying stage.