John McGinn has described the feeling of scoring Scotland's winning goal against Haiti as one of immense pride — and he hopes children across the country woke up sharing that same emotion.

The Aston Villa midfielder's deflected first-half strike gave Scotland their first World Cup victory since 1990, at their first finals appearance since 1998. The win lifted Steve Clarke's side to the top of Group C as they chase a place in the knockout rounds for the first time in their history.

"It wasn't my best of goals but who cares? It's been a long time coming," McGinn told BBC Sport. "I scuffed it a wee bit. Haiti are a decent team by the way. We had to work hard for it. Could we play a bit better? Aye. But it was a must-win game and we won. I'm absolutely over the moon."

Pride across a nation

McGinn, who admitted the effort was not exactly a cleanly struck finish, insisted the result mattered far more than the quality of the goal. Haiti made things uncomfortable in a nervy second half, pressing for an equaliser that never came.

The midfielder reflected on what the win means beyond the result itself, pointing to the younger generation of Scotland supporters who have never witnessed a moment like this.

"We've been through a lot of hurt as a country," he said. "A generation of supporters haven't seen this. But the pride on my face this morning seeing all the kids going to the parks in a Scotland kit and painting their faces. Hopefully when kids get up tomorrow they'll be beaming with pride because I am."

Tough tests ahead

Scotland's celebrations will be short-lived if they are to progress. They still face Morocco on Friday 19 June and Brazil on Wednesday 24 June — two sides with genuine ambitions of going deep into the tournament. McGinn acknowledged the squad must raise their level for those challenges, but insisted the group will draw confidence from this hard-fought opening result.

"It sets things up for Friday," he said, with an eye firmly on the Morocco match.