McGinn’s winner ends Scotland’s 28-year wait in victory over Haiti

Twenty-eight years of waiting ended with a single swing of John McGinn’s right boot. Scotland marked their return to the World Cup with a 1-0 win over Haiti at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on June 13, McGinn’s first-half strike enough to send Steve Clarke’s side top of Group C and lift a drought that had stretched back to France 1998.

McGinn settles a nervy afternoon in Foxborough

For half an hour Scotland had pressed without reward. Scott McTominay headed over early on and then rattled the post in the 17th minute, meeting a Ben Gannon-Doak cutback only to see his effort come back off the woodwork. The breakthrough came in the 28th minute. Che Adams forced a save out of Haiti goalkeeper Johny Placide, the rebound dropped to McGinn on the edge of the box, and the Aston Villa midfielder’s strike took a deflection on its way beyond the goalkeeper to make it 1-0.

It was a goal heavy with meaning. McGinn became Scotland’s first World Cup scorer since Craig Burley found the net against Norway in 1998, and the result handed Scotland their first win at a World Cup finals since they beat Sweden in 1990. In front of a crowd of 64,146 at Boston’s first World Cup match, the travelling Tartan Army had something they had not enjoyed in a generation.

Haiti push hard on their World Cup debut

Haiti, appearing at a World Cup for only the second time, refused to fold. The lowest-ranked side in the group grew into the contest and spent long spells in the final third after the break, testing a Scotland defence built around Andy Robertson and Aaron Hickey. Their best moment arrived with around five minutes left, when Frantzdy Pierrot rose to a cross 10 yards out and headed narrowly wide, a chance that would have stunned the Scots had it dropped a fraction lower.

Scotland held on, riding the pressure with the discipline that has become a hallmark of Clarke’s teams. The 4-4-2 shape that served them in qualifying held its shell late on, and goalkeeper Angus Gunn was rarely forced into the spectacular even as Haiti pushed bodies forward.

Top of Group C, with the hard part still to come

Brazil and Morocco had drawn 1-1 earlier in the day, which meant Scotland’s three points left them alone at the summit of Group C after the opening round. Clarke will know the calculus changes quickly from here. Brazil and Morocco are the names that will define whether this campaign becomes a story of survival or a fairytale, and both lie in wait.

For one night, though, the maths could keep. A nation that had spent 28 years on the outside of football’s biggest tournament was back, and back with a win.

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