'It's about time we won!' - Scotland celebrate first World Cup triumph in 36 years as John McGinn reveals no regrets challenge he set himself on way to stadium

It has been a generation in the making, but Scotland are finally back in the winner's circle on the world stage. Sending the travelling supporters into a frenzy in Boston, McGinn’s 28th-minute strike secured a vital three points against a resilient Haiti side. It marks the first time Scotland have tasted victory at a World Cup since they defeated Sweden in 1990.

While the performance was perhaps more functional than flamboyant, it served as a massive statement of intent for Clarke's men as the Scots showed the necessary steel to navigate a potential banana skin. They now sit top of Group C following Brazil's 1-1 draw with Morocco, giving Scotland a genuine platform to reach the knockout stages for the first time in their history.

Reflecting on his historic goal, McGinn revealed he had set himself a specific psychological challenge during the journey to the stadium. "These opportunities don’t come around too often," the 31-year-old admitted. "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?"

The Aston Villa star continued: "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. 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."

The national team boss was in a buoyant mood following the result, indifferent to the lack of clinical polish in the second half. "I just said to the captain there, Andy Robertson, it’s about time we won a game in the group stage!" Clarke told reporters with a beaming smile.

Despite the nervy finish, the Scots' boss praised the grit of his defensive unit. Clarke added: "We probably put the supporters through it a little bit. Everyone said, ‘must-win game’. We won the game. [Resilience] is what this team’s all about. If teams let them play, but if they have to dig in and show that character and that resilience, that’s what they do as well. Defensively, outstanding. Could have been a little bit better with the ball, but who cares? We won."

While the celebrations will continue, goalkeeper Angus Gunn has already warned that the level of performance must rise. The stopper acknowledged that the final two group games against Morocco and Brazil will be significantly more demanding. "It was difficult. We knew that it was going to be tough but we expected our quality would show in the end," Gunn said.

"We definitely won’t be happy when we look back at it and we’ll have to improve for the next two games but it’s three points at the World Cup," he added. "When the full time whistle went I was absolutely buzzing. I thought we dropped a bit deep, even in the first half. They had two powerful guys up front who pushed us back. I was just screaming at the lads to try and stay up and stay as high as possible. We were just grinding it out and waiting for that full time whistle."