McGinn Takes Swipe at Romano After Man of the Match Display in Scotland's Haiti Victory

Scotland finally got their World Cup campaign off to a winning start with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Haiti, with John McGinn providing the crucial breakthrough in what proved a tense affair in Group C. The Aston Villa midfielder's goal marked the Scots' first World Cup triumph in 36 years and arrived at just the right moment, though concerns will linger about whether they made the most of their opportunity against one of the tournament's lesser lights.

With Morocco and Brazil still to come in the group stage, those three points carry genuine weight. Yet the narrow scoreline leaves an uncomfortable question hanging: should Scotland have put the Haitians to bed by a greater margin?

McGinn's performance earned him the Man of the Match award, and the 31-year-old used his post-match platform to reflect on Scotland's recurring failures at major tournaments. Having crashed out at the group stage at both Euro 2020 and Euro 2024, the midfielder was determined to strike a different tone this time around.

"These opportunities don't come around too often," McGinn explained. "We've said before at major tournaments, did we bring our best? Did we leave the tournament saying we could have done more or we could have shown more? That's what I tried to bring to the game tonight. Sometimes things didn't come off but I promised myself driving up to the stadium that I would be positive and try things. If they didn't come off, get the ball and try it again."

He added: "That's what I felt the lads could do more, we did at times, but the good thing for us is we've got more gears to go up. The crucial thing tonight was, Haiti score a lot of goals and are dangerous up front, so kept a clean sheet, which is very important."

However, McGinn's post-match mood was briefly tested when transfer guru Fabrizio Romano took to social media to announce the award—only to get the midfielder's name spectacularly wrong, billing him as "Scott McGinn." The Villa man wasted no time in firing back with characteristic dry humour: "Just as well I don't get any moves big man."

The jab serves as a reminder of McGinn's importance to Scotland's hopes, though it also highlights the wider perception that he remains largely under the radar when it comes to the transfer market's big movers and shakers.

That might seem surprising given his contributions this season. McGinn has been instrumental in Villa's impressive campaign, chipping in with ten goals and eight assists across all competitions from midfield. His efforts helped steer the Birmingham club to fourth place in the Premier League and, more impressively, to the Europa League title—a feat that included a brace in the semi-final against Nottingham Forest.

Yet not everyone has been convinced. Roy Keane, never one to hold back, raised eyebrows ahead of the World Cup when he labelled the midfielder a "pub player" during an appearance on the Stick To Football podcast.

"He's one of these fellas, when he's bad, when he has his bad days, he does look like a pub player," Keane said. "When he's off it, he's shocking. When he's bad, wow. I've watched him long enough. And the stats are, when he's in the team week in week out, you go 'if these managers all like him...'"

It's a backhanded compliment at best, though McGinn's display against Haiti—and the accolade that followed—suggests he's determined to silence any remaining doubters on football's biggest stage.