Scotland and Australia Seal Historic World Cup Wins

It was a brilliant night for Scotland as they celebrated their first World Cup match for 28 years with victory over Haiti.

John McGinn was the matchwinner, tucking away the rebound after Che Adams’ close-range effort was saved just before the half-hour mark.

Haiti caused some problems, though, with Frantzdy Pierrot heading wide from 12 yards out when he really should’ve done better.

But the Tartan Army held on and now find themselves top of Group C, after Brazil and Morocco shared the points in a 1-1 draw in New Jersey.

The Brazilians were far from their best and were on the backfoot from the off, with Morocco going close inside the opening minute.

Their dominance told in the 21st minute when Ismael Saibari raced clear and clipped the ball over Alisson to put the Atlas Lions in front.

But Vinicius Junior rescued a point just nine minutes later, when he worked some space in the box before rifling home a brilliant strike to restore parity.

There were chances for both sides, with Igor Thiago going the closest for the Brazilians, but both now have work to do to secure a favourable knockout draw.

Next up for Scotland is a trip to Boston to face Morocco on Friday, while Brazil will be confident of securing a first win of the tournament when they take on Haiti in Philadelphia early on Saturday morning.

The final match overnight delivered another surprise, as Turkey, dubbed by many as dark horses to do well in the tournament, were stunned 2-0 by Australia.

Turkey dominated the ball for large periods, but Watford forward Nestory Irankunda scored a brilliant individual goal in the 27th minute to become the youngest scorer in Australian World Cup history.

The Socceroos weren’t done there, as Connor Metcalfe struck home from distance in the second half  to seal a win that puts them on the cusp of the knockout rounds.

They next face joint-hosts the USA on Friday, with the winners securing qualification for the Round of 32.