Scotland won their first match at a World Cup finals in 36 years as John McGinn’s deflected winner sealed a 1-0 victory against Haiti at Gillette Stadium in Boston sending them to the top of Group C on Sunday, June 14th, 2026.
Steve Clarke’s side were made to sweat for large swathes of a brutal battle in the Boston heat in a stadium which was filled to its 64,000 capacity with a majority of Scottish fans, that saw them end the night on top of Group C after Brazil and Morocco drew 1-1 earlier in the day in New Jersey.
The only goal of the game came in the 28th minute when Aston Villa skipper McGinn saw his finish deflect into the net after Haiti
goalkeeper Johny Placide failed to clasp a dangerous cross by Ben Gannon-Doak via a Che Adams’ effort, with the ball breaking kindly for McGinn to secure the three points.
Steve Clarke’s team are bidding to make history by reaching the knockout stages, something Scotland have never done at the World Cup.
They had to hang on grimly at the end, but the victory puts them on course to get to the last 32, especially as the eight best third-placed sides will go through from the group stage.
Haiti are one of the lowest-ranked sides in the tournament, at 84th in the world. Haiti’s achievement in getting to the World Cup is one of the most inspiring stories of this tournament, given the turmoil in the country, which prevented the team from playing qualifiers at home.
Scotland, who defeated Sweden 2-1 at Italia ’90 in their last World Cup win via a Maurice Johnston winner in Genoa, return to Boston to face Morocco on Friday night.
