Published on 6/14/2026
The Scotland national team achieved a difficult victory over Haiti 1-0 at the beginning of its campaign in the third group competitions of the 2026 World Cup in football on Saturday in Boston.
In a group that includes Brazil and Morocco, who tied 1-1 earlier, Scotland’s victory and three points are very important to boost its hopes of qualifying to the round of 32.
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In the match that ended with this clean goal by John McGinn, several records emerged, some of which strongly indicate the competitiveness that the Scottish team faced against a team from which it was expected to receive a large number of goals.
Haiti is not what it seems
Haiti recorded its best defensive performance in goals conceded (1), shots faced (9), shots on goal faced (2), and expected goals against (1.05) in its four-match history at the World Cup.
At 31 years and 238 days, John McGinn is the oldest player to score a goal for Scotland in a FIFA World Cup, overtaking Kenny Dalglish (31 years and 103 days) against New Zealand in 1982.
Scotland had more possession of the ball (59% vs. 41%) and took more shots (6 vs. 3) until John McGinn opened the scoring. However, after the 29th minute, Haiti dominated possession (60% vs. 40%) and took more shots (12 vs. 3).
Good omen
Scotland, on the other hand, won their opening World Cup match for the third time (also in 1974 and 1982) and each time they won their opening match, they topped the group after one round, with Brazil also in all three groups.
This is Scotland’s fifth World Cup win, their first since a 2-1 win over Sweden in 1990 – and also their first ever win by just one goal in the tournament.
Scotland kept its fourth clean sheet in a World Cup match (W2 D2) – three of which were against opponents from the Americas, including today’s 1-0 win over Haiti and a 0-0 draw against Uruguay in 1986 and Brazil in 1974.
Angus Gunn is the third Scottish goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet in a World Cup, after David Harvey (twice in 1974) and Jim Leighton (1986).
Perfect passes
Haiti’s Hans Delcroix succeeded in all 66 passes he attempted against Scotland. He is the second player to maintain 100% passing accuracy with at least 50 attempts in the 2026 World Cup, after Chris Richards, USA national team player (84/84).
Andy Robertson led Scotland against Haiti in number of touches (68), passes in the final third of the field (18), and line-breaking passes in the final third of the field (6). He also created the most chances (participated) for Scotland (2).
