Scotland beat Haiti 1-0 to mark a winning return to the World Cup

A scrappy finish by John McGinn allowed Scotland to mark their return to the World Cup after a 28-year absence with a nervy 1-0 win over outsiders Haiti.

Aston Villa captain McGinn fired in with the aid of a deflection just before the half-hour mark at the Gillette Stadium just outside Boston, which was filled to its 64,000 capacity with a majority of Scottish fans.

They have travelled to the United States in large numbers to follow Scotland’s first World Cup campaign since 1998 and were able to celebrate a rare victory at the tournament as they go top of Group C.

It is Scotland’s first win at a World Cup since a 2-1 defeat of Sweden in Italy in 1990, and their first victory at any major tournament in 30 years, since Euro 96.

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, and Scotland knew the importance of beating the Caribbean nation with tougher tests to come.

They play Morocco at the same stadium in their next game on Friday before heading to Miami to take on Brazil. Morocco and Brazil drew 1-1 in Saturday’s other Group C encounter in New Jersey.