Against a valiant Haiti

LIVE: Final minutes! Is there still a chance for Haiti?

Scotland celebrates its first victory in a World Cup finals since 1990.(Bild: AP/Martin Meissner)

After 36 years, Scotland can finally celebrate a World Cup victory again. In their opening match, the “Bravehearts” defeated Haiti 1-0 thanks to John McGinn’s golden goal. This puts them at the top of Group C with three points after the first matchday.

The kickoff in Boston marked the end of an 80-year wait. Scotland’s soccer players had waited 28 years to qualify for the World Cup, while their opening-match opponent, Haiti, had waited a full 52 years. The fans in the stadium—among whom the British were in the majority—were in high spirits.

Every tackle won, every successful move at Gillette Stadium was cheered loudly. The Scots were also slightly in control of the game on the field. After 17 minutes, Scott McTominay, who had recovered in time after suffering from stomach problems in the previous days, had the first clear chance. The Napoli player unleashed one of his feared shots from the edge of the box, but it struck only the right post.

McGinn pounced on the reboundto put the ball in the net
 In the 28th minute, Scotland’s fans were finally able to celebrate a World Cup goal again. Haiti’s goalkeeper Johny Placide initially saved a close-range shot from Che Adams, but he had no chance against John McGinn’s deflected follow-up. The Scots’ opening goal served as a wake-up call for Haiti to step up their game. In the 34th minute, Scotland’s goalkeeper Angus Gunn had to prove himself twice over. He stopped a good shot from Ruben Providence, then was in the right place when Frantzdy Pierrot’s second attempt proved too weak.

(Bild: AFP/MATTIA OZBOT)

After the break, Scotland was content to manage the result, while Haiti was unable to consistently follow through on its sporadic attacks . So it was the Europeans who once again created the best chance on a counterattack, but McGinn’s shot narrowly missed the goal this time (73rd minute).

Pierrot’s header sails just wide
Haiti now fought even more tenaciously; the players threw themselves energetically into every tackle and gathered their strength for a major final offensive. In the 85th minute, they finally had a huge chance to equalize. Arcus Carlens sent a magnificent cross into the penalty area from the right side; Pierrot rose higher than his opponents and sent a good header just centimeters wide of the goal. An equalizer would not have been undeserved at that point, as the Central Americans had been the far more active team in the second half. However, they also lacked the creativity to create several high-quality chances.

Unfortunately, the match ended on a sour note. Completely unnecessarily, Kenny McLean went into a tackle against Josue Casimir on the sideline in midfield with his leg high, knocking the Haitian to the ground, and was lucky to receive only a yellow card for it. Scotland nevertheless celebrated their first World Cup victory since 1990.

Final score:
Haiti - Scotland 0-1 (0-1)
, Boston, 64,146, Referee Ghorbal (ALG)
Goal: 0–1 (28') McGinn
Yellow cards: Bellegarde and Hickey, Curtis, McLean

Haiti: Placide – Arcus, Ade, Delcroix, Experience – Deedson (61. Casimir), Jean-Jacques, Bellegarde, Providence (85. Fortune) – Pierrot, Isidor (75. Joseph)
Scotland: Gunn – Hickey (75. Patterson), Hendry, Hanley, Robertson – Gannon-Doak (75. Christie), McTominay, Ferguson, McGinn (82. Curtis) - Shankland (82. McLean), Adams (75. Dykes)