McGinn concedes Scotland's World Cup exit is 'unlikely' to be avoided after 3-0 Brazil rout

John McGinn conceded that Scotland’s World Cup campaign is all but over after a 3-0 defeat to Brazil in Miami on Wednesday left their hopes of reaching the Round of 32 hanging by a thread.

The Scots, already facing an uphill battle after losing their second group game to Morocco, needed at least a respectable scoreline against the South Americans to keep their goal difference competitive. Instead, they were outclassed throughout, and McGinn did not hide from the reality of their situation.

“Gutted obviously. We lose poor goals at poor times against a team that can punish you with quality. We had a few chances but we’ve got to wait now,” the Aston Villa midfielder told the BBC. “The lads are gutted, we fell short on quality tonight but we gave it absolutely everything. The lads are empty now. It’s unlikely [we’ll qualify] but we’ll wait and see.”

Scotland had beaten Haiti in their opening fixture, but three points from three games was always going to leave them reliant on other results — and a healthy goal difference — to sneak through as one of the best third-placed sides. That calculation was badly damaged by the margin of Wednesday’s loss.

Vinicius Jr set the tone, capitalising on a defensive error to put Brazil ahead inside ten minutes before doubling the lead just before half-time. The Real Madrid forward also had a goal disallowed by VAR for a foul on defender Jack Hendry — a decision McGinn acknowledged could yet prove significant. “We probably were fortunate to have the [second] goal disallowed,” he said.

Matheus Cunha added a third after the break to compound Scotland’s misery and further dent their goal difference.

Manager Steve Clarke was equally downbeat and pointed to his side’s own failings as the primary cause of the defeat. “We gave them the goals, we gave them the game they wanted — disappointing,” he said.

Scotland must now wait on results elsewhere to discover whether their World Cup adventure is over, though McGinn’s candid assessment suggests the dressing room holds little hope of a reprieve.