McGinn silences Roy Keane's 'pub player' jibe with winner in Scotland's first World Cup victory in 36 years

John McGinn scored the decisive goal as Scotland defeated Haiti in their 2026 World Cup group-stage opener on Saturday, ending a 36-year wait for a World Cup victory and answering Roy Keane’s pre-match claim that the Aston Villa midfielder “looks like a pub player” at times.

Scotland’s last win at a World Cup came in 1998, and their last appearance at the tournament was that same year, making McGinn’s strike a landmark moment for the national side. The 31-year-old arrived at the World Cup having just captained Villa to Europa League glory, cementing his status as one of the most important players in both club and international football.

Keane, working as a pundit for ITV, had stirred debate in the build-up to the game with pointed remarks about McGinn’s consistency. “McGinn is one of these fellas, when he has his bad days, he does look like a pub player,” Keane said. “When he’s off it, he’s shocking. I’ve watched him long enough. When he’s bad, wow. But you’d have him in your group. Absolutely.”

Far from taking offence, McGinn responded with characteristic self-awareness. “He’s getting slagged for that — I didn’t think what he said was that bad,” McGinn told ITV after the match. “He followed it up with something complimentary. He was right. I actually think the amount of games I’m looking like a pub player is getting less and less as I get older; I try not to have as many games like that and try to be more consistent. But I didn’t think it was too bad.”

McGinn also echoed Keane’s assessment that Scotland have nothing to fear in their remaining group fixtures against Morocco and Brazil. “People were saying, ‘Oh, did you see what he said?’ I just thought it was quite nice they were talking about me,” he added. “He’s right — we’ve got nothing to fear going into these games. All the pressure’s going to be on Morocco, all the pressure’s going to be on Brazil.”

Results against those two sides will determine whether Steve Clarke’s team advance to the knockout stages of the competition.