John Swinney, the Scottish First Minister, described Scotland's 1-0 World Cup win over Haiti as 'seismic' — a victory that ended a 36-year wait for a tournament win and marked the first opening-match success in 44 years.
John McGinn's strike was the difference in a nervy encounter in Boston, where Steve Clarke's side were made to sweat against a team ranked 83rd in the world. The slender margin revived memories of 1974, 1978 and 1982, when Scotland were eliminated on goal difference. But for now, the Scots top Group C.
“Scotland win first World Cup match in 36 years; John Swinney calls victory 'seismic'.”
'It doesn't matter how we got it done, we got the job done and that's all that matters,' said former Scotland forward James McFadden, who never reached a World Cup himself. 'Scotland don't win a lot of games at the World Cup. In fact, Scotland don't play at many World Cups, so I think it's huge.'
Attention now shifts to Morocco and Brazil — ranked sixth and seventh in the world — who drew 1-1 on Saturday night. A point from either game would almost certainly guarantee progress to the knockout stages for the first time in Scotland's history. Clarke may adopt a more cautious approach, having started with two strikers against Haiti.
'We've never seen a Scotland team do it, this could be the team to do it,' McFadden added. With 32 of 48 nations advancing, the margin for error is wider than in previous generations, but the Scottish psyche — forever waiting for the crash — will not let the nation relax just yet.