Scotland kicked off their World Cup campaign with a slender 1-0 win against Haiti in Foxborough.
After an even start, John McGinn opened the scoring for Scotland midway through the first-half. Haiti dominated large swaths of the second period but Steve Clarke’s side remained firm to seal three points.
Scotland’s victory leaves the Tartan Army sitting top of their group ahead of Friday’s clash with Morocco and sees them secure their first World Cup win in nearly 40 years.
Here are all of the talking points from the USA:
After his midfield colleague Scott McTominay hit the post, McGinn was the man to end Scotland’s long wait for a World Cup goal.
Che Adams had managed to get free of his marker to turn the ball towards goal from close range. His effort was saved but the ball bounced out towards McGinn.
The Aston Villa man let fly, with the ball nestling into the back of the net via the help of a deflection. Following his goal in the Europa League final, McGinn now has another memorable strike to his name.
He has also now surpassed Kenny Dalglish (31 years and 103 days vs New Zealand in 1982) as Scotland’s oldest-ever scorer at a World Cup at 31 years and 238 days.
View 3 ImagesJohn McGinn celebrates his goal against Haiti(Image: Getty Images)
It’s been a long wait for Scotland’s last World Cup goal – that coming in a 1-1 draw with Norway back in 1998. But it’s been even longer for a win.
Scotland last tasted success in a World Cup match way back in 1990 against Sweden in Genoa.
And this one was just about deserved. Clarke’s side certainly had to work for it, Haiti were certainly no pushovers. But Scotland did what was required, they scored the goal and defended resolutely when they needed to.
Some might be disappointed that it wasn’t more emphatic but given how long the nation had waited for victory, no one will complain.
Scotland realistically needed to win this game to give themselves a chance of reaching the last 32 – and they’ve done exactly that.
There are sure to be more tricky tests on the horizon, with Brazil and Morocco set to come. And it goes without saying that both of those teams are a considerable step up.
But Clarke’s side have given themselves some breathing room now. A point in each of their next two games would go a long way in securing qualification, whether that be automatically or as one of the best third-placed teams.
View 3 ImagesSteve Clarke has led Scotland to their first World Cup win since 1990(Image: Getty Images)
Of course, there will be disappointment among the Scotland ranks that they only just managed to squeeze past Haiti. But the minnows need to take some serious credit for their performance.
There was not a noticeable gap in quality between the two teams. Haiti created an array of chances – the best of which coming from Frantzdy Pierrot, who headed narrowly wide with just minutes remaining.
As ever, Scotland’s midfield was their strength against Haiti. McGinn scored the goal, while McTominay was also crucial in stifling Haiti’s creativity.
It looks likely that combination will be crucial to any possible results against Morocco or Brazil. The group game earlier in the day was basically decided in the centre of the park, with the African side getting the better of their illustrious South American opponents in midfield.
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Scotland certainly need to outperform both – with the help of McGinn and McTominay – if they want results against either.
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