Scotland's defender Andrew Robertson (R) congratulates Scotland's midfielder John McGinn (L) on the pitch after the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualification football match between Scotland and Austria at Hampden Park in Glasgow on March 25, 2021. - The game finished 2-2. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Scotland’s match-winner against Haiti admits he has given up trying to calculate the World Cup permutations that could see his country make history in Group C.
John McGinn, who scored the decisive goal against Haiti, is nonetheless confident that Steve Clarke’s side will trouble Morocco when the two nations meet in Boston on Friday.
Morocco rank among the world’s top ten sides, meaning Scotland will enter the contest as clear underdogs, a role McGinn believes could work entirely in their favour.
The Aston Villa captain chose not to watch Morocco’s match against Brazil on the bus journey to the stadium, unlike some of his teammates who studied the footage ahead of Friday’s encounter.
McGinn said: “Now we face two of the top ten teams in the world. Some of the boys watched their game on the bus journey to the stadium, even though I chose not to.”
He added: “I think we can cause them problems in the same way Haiti caused us problems. It might actually suit us to play a bit more on the counter-attack and make it difficult for them.”
McGinn was refreshingly candid about his attempts to figure out the qualification mathematics, saying: “It’s too hard to work out whether three points will put us through. I’ve tried, but gave up!”
Scotland’s opener against Haiti was far from a polished display, with Scott McTominay striking the post before McGinn latched onto a loose ball to fire home via a deflection five minutes after the first water break.
The midfielder was visibly urging his teammates to raise their performance during that water break, making clear to the group that he felt they had more to offer on the world stage.
McGinn reflected on the mindset he carried into the game, saying: “These opportunities don’t come around too often and after previous tournaments we’ve asked ourselves: ‘Did we bring our best? Or could we have done more, could have shown more?'”
He also singled out defender Grant Hanley for special praise, saying: “Grant Hanley was colossal in those last 15 minutes, absolutely unbelievable in really important moments. He was brave and won everything.”
While McGinn collected FIFA’s Player of the Match award, Lewis Ferguson was equally enthusiastic in his assessment of young winger Ben Gannon-Doak, who set up both McTominay’s woodwork strike and McGinn’s winning goal.
Ferguson said: “Ben was really good. What I like about him is that he looks free and that’s the stage he belongs on. He goes and gets at people.”
Ferguson added that Scotland needed to ensure Gannon-Doak received more of the ball, noting that the Bournemouth wide man caused defenders serious problems every time he was involved in play.
An estimated 30,000 Tartan Army supporters were present in Boston, creating what Ferguson described as a home atmosphere that gave the squad an extra lift heading into the tournament opener.
McGinn echoed that sentiment, describing the moment after the final whistle as something genuinely special, noting he had never previously witnessed Scotland playing at this level of competition.
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