McGinn on World Cup ‘excitement’ as Scots face Belarus live on BBC

Location: ZTE Arena, Zalaegerszeg Monday, September 8th, 2019 19:45 GMT

Few Scots in Copenhagen celebrated Friday’s draw with Denmark by serving up “a little food and bed,” but that’s what John McGinn and his Scotland team-mates did.

With a comfortable night and an away point to Group C’s top seeds, the Aston Villa captain followed with a strong performance as Steve Clarke’s men skipped out of Copenhagen.

The Tartan Army, who had a beer or two to celebrate one of McGinn’s best outings in a dark shirt in years, cannot be said about the thousands who came along.

No fans will be present for the match between Belarus and Belarus on Monday, so watch the headlines quickly.

It will be a very promising start to a short campaign if Scotland defeats the pot-four team by three points. Are the players in the running for the next summer’s tournament in North America?

Due to a delay in the squad’s flight from Copenhagen to Hevis-Balaton airport, where it was unusual to have a chance to do some sightseeing, the interview came a little later than expected.

The rest of the team trained on Saturday before departing for the city to explore the city.

As he described his day on the streets of the Danish capital, the ever-energetic McGinn, 30, acknowledged that his social battery “goes up and then goes right back down and then goes up too much.”

It was understandable that most people opted to go “home, teeth, bed” because it was close to midnight when Scotland left the Parken stadium.

That was especially true for McGinn, who gave off a “brilliant team performance” by acting out a bustling intent.

However, as he matures into one of the squad’s more experienced members, his days of firing up the PlayStation are over.

Everyone is unique, but McGinn said to BBC Sport Scotland, “You can use that time to either relax or get to sleep.”

“No longer, I’m a PlayStation guy,” I used to say.

McGinn hardly ever lets any annoyance be revealed, even when he is surrounded by kilted boys and girls.

He is still as enthusiastic about throwing around in Scotland kit as anyone, it is obvious. Even if Tivoli Gardens’ cover blows.

He is a darling of the Tartan Army because of his passion and relatability, as well as his high-quality acting.

He, like them, has the “dream of traveling to North America] and making history,” but it was revealed that the players are talking about the tournament coming up next summer.

He explained, “Sometimes in small groups.” In large groups, you won’t talk about it a lot.

“We’ve played in significant tournaments, but I believe a World Cup would surpass that.”

“There is excitement there. We can only be stronger and be more effective if everyone wants to realize their own personal goals.

This is a Scotland squad with extensive tournament experience for the first time in three decades.

Many of Clarke’s key players who qualified for Euro 2020 and/or 2024 are still pulling, while those who haven’t yet had a taste are stomping for it.

The demand for young people to join the first-team regulars has been growing from the stands, from Lennon Miller to Ben Gannon-Doak to Kieron Bowie, and McGinn is confident that they will do so should the nod come.

The young boys are significantly different from when I first joined the squad, McGinn continued.

They no longer feel as anxious. The boys feel much more at ease entering the new environment because of the changes in football.

They each have their own humor, personality, and ability, and they are constantly improving, and each time they leave, you can see the improvement.

Because we are getting older, that can only help us, and those guys will have to step up and try to knock us off our perch in the coming years.