Haiti 0-1 Scotland: McGinn ends a 28-year wait as the Tartan Army go top in Boston

Scotland waited a generation for this. John McGinn's deflected first-half goal was enough to beat a brave Haiti 1-0 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough — Boston's World Cup venue — in front of 64,146 fans, ending the longest of droughts and lifting the Tartan Army to the summit of Group C.

McGinn breaks the deadlock

The only goal arrived in the 28th minute. After a Che Adams effort and a Ben Gannon-Doak delivery, McGinn got his shot away and watched it ricochet off a Haiti defender and past goalkeeper Johny Placide into the net. It was a scrappy way to settle a tight, foul-strewn contest, but Scotland did not care how it went in.

The goal carried real weight. McGinn became Scotland's first World Cup goalscorer since Craig Burley against Norway in 1998, and at 31 years and 238 days he became the oldest Scotland player ever to score at a World Cup, surpassing Kenny Dalglish's mark from 1982.

Haiti push, Scotland hold firm

Haiti refused to fade. Their best chance to level came late on, around the 80th minute, when Frantzdy Pierrot rose to meet a cross and headed narrowly wide. It was the closest the debutants came to a deserved equaliser in a physical match that produced 44 combined fouls — the most in a World Cup group-stage game since Chile against Switzerland in 2010 — and four yellow cards, three of them Scottish.

Scotland saw it out for a clean sheet, their first shutout at a World Cup since holding Uruguay in 1986. It was also their first World Cup victory since beating Sweden 2-1 in 1990 — only the fifth in their history.

What it means for Group C

With Brazil and Morocco drawing 1-1 earlier in the day, Scotland's three points sent them top of Group C. Haiti, for all their endeavour on a notable World Cup appearance, are left chasing their first point. The group is wide open: Scotland next meet Morocco, while Haiti face Brazil, and another result like this would keep Steve Clarke's side dreaming. Revisit the game on the match page or see the full schedule at matches.