John McGinn admitted that his goal against Haiti will hardly be remembered as the most beautiful of his career, but it certainly holds a special place among the most important. The midfielder brought Scotland a 1-0 victory in the team's first match at the 2026 World Cup and put the team at the top of Group C after a draw between Brazil and Morocco. McGinn's goal in the 28th minute was Scotland's first at a World Cup finals since 1998 and caused wild emotions among the thousands of Scottish supporters in the stands, the FIFA website reports.
„It may not be the best goal of my career, but who cares? It was an incredible moment. When I saw the ball in the net and the reaction of our fans, the feeling was hard to describe. "I still don't think I've fully grasped what happened," McGinn said.
The Aston Villa player stressed that opportunities like this don't come along often and that's why he wanted to give it his all. "Before big tournaments we always ask ourselves if we've given our all. I didn't want to leave this tournament feeling like we could have done more. So I tried to be brave and positive throughout the game," he added.
Young winger Ben Gannon-Doke made a big contribution to the winning goal. It was his run down the right flank and the subsequent cross that set up McGinn's goal.
The 20-year-old was delighted after his World Cup debut. "This is the number one thing in my career so far. To make my World Cup debut with Scotland is incredible. Our fans were fantastic. They are always loud, they are always with us and that support is palpable“, commented Gannon-Doke. The Bournemouth winger also paid tribute to the hero of the evening. “McGuinn is an incredible person and leader. He has been through so much with the national team and I can only imagine how he felt when he scored that goal“, said the young footballer.
Despite the success, the Scots believe they can show an even better side in their next matches. “We played well and deservedly won, but we know we can do more. There were moments when we should have kept the ball better and decided the game with one or two more goals“, admitted Gannon-Doke.
A similar opinion was expressed by McGinn, who believes that the team has not yet shown its full potential. “The good thing is that we still have a lot of gears ahead of us. Haiti are a dangerous opponent in attack, so it was important to keep a clean sheet. Now we have Morocco and Brazil - two teams from the world elite. We know their qualities, but we believe we can make it difficult for them and be even better in the next games,“, concluded the Scotland captain.