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Scotland started their World Cup 2026 campaign with their first win at the finals in 36 years as John McGinn’s deflected strike proved enough for the Tartan Army to beat a persistently threatening Haiti side in Boston.
On their return to the tournament for the first time since 1998, Aston Villa midfielder McGinn’s effort from inside the box was deflected in for the 28th-minute winner, pouncing after goalkeeper Johny Placide had turned away Che Adams’ shot on an emotional night for Steve Clarke’s side and their fans.
A goal for Scotland. A goal for ALL OF SCOTLAND! 🏴🏴🏴
John McGinn fires his nation ahead against Haiti! #FifaWorldCup pic.twitter.com/2otuUub0oh
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) June 14, 2026
The prolific Scott McTominay shot against a post before McGinn’s goal, while Haiti belied their status as the second-lowest ranked team at the finals in a game to fray the nerves of supporters sacrificing sleep to watch the game in the middle of the night in the UK.
Frantzdy Pierrot powered a header narrowly wide for The Grenadiers with five minutes remaining, but Scotland held on for a result that means they top Group C after one game for each of the four teams in their section, which began hours earlier with a 1-1 draw between Brazil and Morocco in New Jersey.
Scotland vs Haiti analysis: Gannon-Doak shines at World Cup
At 20 years and 214 days of age, Ben Gannon-Doak became the youngest player to appear for Scotland at the World Cup and showed why Bournemouth paid Liverpool an initial £20 million for the winger last August.
A fleet-footed nuisance on the right, Gannon-Doak’s cross led to the goal following Adams’ silky touch to bring down Grant Hanley’s arced pass from inside his own half.
“He’s a young man and new in his Scotland career but he’s got so much confidence,” former England goalkeeper Joe Hart told BBC Sport, explaining that he knew Gannon-Doak from his time at Celtic when the prospect was emerging from the Scottish giants’ youth ranks.
“He doesn’t care what the level is. He didn’t care when he came and trained with us. He had so much belief and wanted to express himself.”
Ex-Scotland midfielder Scott Brown praised Gannon-Doak’s positivity, awareness and runs behind Haiti’s defence.
“He is playing games with them,” said Brown. “You want a Scotland player to be direct and put balls in the box.”
Scotland, Haiti World Cup 2026 fixtures, schedule
Both teams are likely to face stiffer tests next, taking on record five-time champions Brazil and 2022 semi-finalists Morocco.
Here’s how the remaining fixtures in the group look. Asterisk denotes match taking place the previous day in that territory.
| Date | Opponents | Start time (BST) | ET | PT |
| June 19 | Scotland vs Morocco | 23:00 | 18:00 | 15:00 |
| June 20 | Haiti vs Brazil | 01:30 | 20:30* | 17:30* |
| June 24 | Scotland vs Brazil | 23:00 | 18:00 | 15:00 |
| June 24 | Haiti vs Morocco | 23:00 | 18:00 | 15:00 |
World Cup 2026: Haiti team vs Scotland
Haiti were unchanged from their 2-1 defeat to Peru in Florida on June 6.
Wolves midfielder Jean-Ricner and Lugano defender Hannes Delcroix both started playing for Haiti before the third and final qualifying round, and Sunderland forward Wilson Isidor has joined their ranks since then.
Haiti starting XI: Johny Placide, Carlens Arcus, Ricardo Ade, Hannes Delcroix, Martin Experience, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, Danley Jean Jacques, Louicius Deedson, Ruben Providence, Wilson Isidor, Frantzdy Pierrot
Haiti substitutes: Alexandre Pierre, Josue Duverger, Keeto Thermoncy, Markhus Lacroix, Garven Metusala, Jean-Kevin Duverne, Wilguens Paugain, Carl Sainte, Dominique Simon, Woodensky Pierre, Derrick Etienne, Duckens Nazon, Lenny Joseph, Yassin Fortune, Josue Casimir
Just listen to this… 🥹
Goosebumps as the Scotland fans belt out Flower of Scotland at the World Cup 🏴 🎶 #BBCFootball #FifaWorldCup pic.twitter.com/zChW8Py614
— BBC Sport Scotland (@BBCSportScot) June 14, 2026
World Cup 2026: Scotland team vs Haiti
Scotland brought in McGinn from their 4-0 win against Bolivia in Harrison eight days ago, with Ryan Christie moving to the bench.
Tyler Fletcher is part of the squad after being called up to replace Billy Gilmour when the midfielder suffered a knee injury during the win over Curacao on May 30.
Craig Gordon returned from a shoulder injury in May and the 43-year-old played the first half against Curacao but did not start this time.
Defender Scott McKenna was out with a calf injury that was expected to be short-term and Middlesbrough forward Tommy Conway will miss the finals with an ankle problem.
Southampton striker Ross Stewart has been a part of Scotland’s squad for the first time since 2022, having suffered a string of serious injuries between his previous international appearance and January this year.
Scotland starting XI: Angus Gunn, Aaron Hickey, Andy Robertson, Grant Hanley, Jack Hendry, Scott McTominay, John McGinn, Lewis Ferguson, Che Adams, Ben Gannon-Doak, Lawrence Shankland
Scotland substitutes: Liam Kelly, Craig Gordon, Kieran Tierney, John Souttar, Dominic Hyam, Nathan Patterson, Anthony Ralston, Scott McKenna, Tyler Fletcher, Ryan Christie, Kenny McLean, Lyndon Dykes, Ross Stewart, George Hirst, Findlay Curtis
World Cup 2026: Haiti vs Scotland stats
- The 52-year-gap between Haiti’s and Congo DR’s first appearance (1974) and second appearance (2026) at the World Cup is the fourth-longest in tournament history, behind Wales (64 years, between 1958 and 2022), Egypt (56 years, between 1934 and 1990) and Norway (56 years, between 1938 and 1994)
- Among sides to play 10 games in CONCACAF qualifying, only Bermuda (31) and Nicaragua (16) conceded more goals than Haiti (13), as well as shipping the third-largest amount of expected goals (11.7)
- No player scored more goals in the campaign than Haiti’s Duckens Nazon (6), including a hat-trick after coming on as a sub against Costa Rica in September
- Sebastien Migne will be the second person to coach Haiti at a World Cup after Antoine Tassy and the first non-Haitian to do so
- The Frenchman’s only previous experience at a major international competition came at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations with Kenya (W1 L2) and with Haiti at the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup (D1 L2)
- Scotland topped a World Cup qualifying group for the first time since 1982 but have failed to advance from the first round in any of their previous eight appearances at the finals
- Including EURO appearances, Scotland have failed to surpass the opening round in any of their 12 previous attempts at major competitions
- They had the lowest goal difference (+6 – 13 scored, 7 conceded) among all directly qualified sides in European qualifying, as well as the lowest difference between expected goals and expected goals conceded (+0.8 – 9.4 xG, 8.6 xG against)
- Since the start of 2023, Scott McTominay has been directly involved in 15 goals for Scotland in all competitions (13 goals, 2 assists), which is at least six more than any other player (John McGinn is next, with 9)
- Steve Clarke is leading Scotland to a third major tournament following EURO 2020 and EURO 2024, which is more than any other head coach for the national team
