McGinn: 'There's momentum and belief in this Scotland team'

Scotland midfielder John McGinn says the team’s late winner over Israel is further proof of the belief the team have in themselves.

Scott McTominay scored deep into injury time to give the national team a 3-2 win after they had trailed twice at Hampden.

McGinn scored the first Scotland goal and delivered the corner that led to the winner, and said that the vital three points from the World Cup qualifier were hard-earned.

“It was some game,” he said. “It could have gone either way.

“The second half was a lot better but the first half wasn’t good enough. Like I just said to the Israel manager, they are a really good side, they always give us a lot of problems and they’re a very tricky team to play against. They force you into a lot of mistakes.

“Tonight was all about the three points and I think, over the piece, we certainly had the chances to deserve it.”

The Aston Villa star paid tribute to the Tartan Army as a sell-out crowd roared the team to victory at Hampden, and after collecting his 39th cap, said it was the first full house he had played in front of at the national stadium.

He said that the players have the feeling that the nation is behind them as they aim to take a play-off spot and reach World Cup 2022, and after three wins in a row they have hit their stride.

“There’s a real momentum and belief,” he said. “And we feel the belief in the country, they’re starting to believe in this team.

“We’ve also got strength in depth and you see that when there’s Ryan Christie coming on and Liam Cooper coming on, two top players. It’s not a team that’s going away and in Nathan Patterson and Billy Gilmour there’s two players who will play for Scotland for the next ten years at least.

“It’s really exciting times and hopefully we can get ourselves to Qatar.”