John McGinn secures Scotland's first World Cup victory for 36 years

John McGinn's heavily deflected first-half strike gave Scotland their first World Cup win in 36 years in a tense Group C clash in Massachusetts. Scotland faced Haiti, a side ranked 47 places below them, and controlled the early phase with Ben Gannon-Doak creating chances on the right. McGinn's shot took a big touch off Wolverhampton's Jean-Ricner Bellegarde after Gannon-Doak's cross was cleared, delivering the decisive moment. The victory leaves Scotland atop Group C, ahead of a Brazil–Morocco draw earlier in the day, and extends their long-awaited return to success on football's biggest stage. A packed Scottish support, arriving in yellow school buses from Boston, celebrated a result that felt hard-won yet significant for the nation.

Scotland's win represents their fifth World Cup victory in nine tournaments and their first since Genoa 1990, when they beat Sweden. They had not scored a World Cup goal since the 1998 Craig Burley equaliser, underscoring how fragile this success was until the final whistle. Looking ahead, Scotland will face Morocco in Boston on Friday, June 19 at 11pm local time, then Brazil in Miami on June 24 at 11pm, as they bid to progress.