Scotland, roared on by their Tartan Army of travelling fans, savoured their first World Cup win in 36 years on Saturday when they edged past Haiti for a scrappy 1-0 victory settled by a first-half strike from John McGinn.
The Scots – needing three points against a side ranked among the minnows of the game before facing tougher opposition in the shape of Brazil and Morocco in their other Group C matches – went ahead in the 28th minute.
A close-range effort by Che Adams was saved by Johny Placide only for the ball to fall to McGinn whose shot was deflected over the Haiti goalkeeper and into the net.
Eleven minutes earlier, Scott McTominay had smacked a shot against a post and, although Haiti showed glimpses of their electric pace and put pressure on Scotland in the closing stages, Scottish goalkeeper Angus Gunn barely had a save to make.
The win, although not pretty, puts Steve Clarke’s men top of the group ahead of five-time world champions Brazil and 2022 semi-finalists Morocco who drew 1-1 earlier on Saturday and bolsters their hopes of finally making it into the knockout round of a major competition.
“We probably put the supporters through it a little bit. Everyone said it was a must-win game. We won the game,” Clarke told BBC radio. “Defensively – outstanding. We probably could have been a little bit better with the ball, but who cares?”
At the final whistle, Scotland’s supporters also showed no sign of worrying about the lack of flowing football as they launched into a raucous rendition of their trademark celebration song “Yes Sir, I Can Boogie” by Spanish 1970s disco act Baccara.
Under FIFA’s expanded tournament format, three points and a decent goal difference at the end of the group stage would offer a good chance of qualifying for the knockout stage of the competition, something that has eluded Scotland in all of their previous eight World Cups.
The Scottish supporters made the most of their return to the global stage after an absence of 28 years, giving a lung-busting rendition of their familiar tribute song for McGinn.
He repaid the compliment with his goal – which at 31 years and 238 days of age made him the oldest Scotland player to score at a World Cup – less than a month after he lifted the Europa League trophy as captain of England’s Aston Villa, while winger Ben Gannon-Doak threatened with his pace.
Haiti – playing at their first World Cup since 1974 – were bolstered by the inclusion of two players with experience of playing in the English Premier League – Jean-Ricner Bellegarde of Wolverhampton Wanderers and Sunderland’s Wilson Isidor.
But they had only a few glimpses of an equaliser. In the 38th minute, the ball fell to Ruben Providence a few yards out but he was dispossessed by Aaron Hickey. Frantzdy Pierrot headed narrowly wide in the 85th minute and had another chance in the dying moments but Scotland clung on for their win.
The Scots – whose last win at the World Cup was a 2-1 defeat of Sweden in 1990 – next meet Morocco in Boston while Haiti face Brazil in Philadelphia with both games taking place on Friday. (Reuters)
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