FIFA World Cup: Scotland beat Haiti 1-0 to end 36-year wait for World Cup win

New Delhi ( Abhishek Singh) : Scotland ended a 36-year wait for a FIFA World Cup victory with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Haiti in their Group C opener on Saturday, thanks to a first-half strike from John McGinn.

Steve Clarke's side moved to the top of the group after securing their first World Cup win since defeating Sweden at Italia '90, while Haiti's long-awaited return to the global stage ended in disappointment despite an encouraging display.

Scotland started brightly at Gillette Stadium and threatened early through Ben Doak, whose low effort forced a save from Haiti goalkeeper Johny Placide. After surviving a spell of Haitian pressure, the Scots came close to taking the lead when Scott McTominay's first-time effort from the edge of the area struck the post.

The breakthrough arrived in the 28th minute. Placide initially denied Che Adams from close range, but the rebound fell to McGinn, whose shot took two deflections before looping into the net. The goal made the Aston Villa midfielder Scotland's oldest scorer at a World Cup finals.

Buoyed by the opener, Scotland nearly doubled their advantage before the break when Lawrence Shankland headed narrowly wide from a Doak cross. Haiti, however, remained dangerous and almost capitalised on a mistake from Angus Gunn, who spilled a powerful effort from Ruben Providence before his defenders cleared the danger.