John McGinn believes Scotland have the capability to not only deal with the heat, but add to it when they begin their World Cup campaign against Haiti this Sunday.
Scotland’s Group C campaign kicks off at Boston Stadium in what is their first match at the World Cup since 1998, and the first against Haiti at intenational level.
Steve Clarke’s side were in Fort Lauderdale last week acclimatising to the sweltering conditions, before heading north to New York for Saturday’s 4-0 thrashing of Bolivia.
In that match, Scotland netted four first-half goals in an international match for the first time since March 2015 against Gibraltar, and they enter the tournament with confidence.
Before jetting off to North America, Scotland also put four past World Cup debutants Curacao, though they were helped by Jurgen Locadia’s 38th-minute sending off.
And though McGinn acknowledged the difficulty of playing in the extreme temperatures, he believes Scotland will adapt the longer the tournament progresses.
“I think it feels different to last week because you’re starting to get used to it,” McGinn said of the heat in Charlotte, where Scotland’s training camp is.
“Last week, your hands are on your knees, and you see clips of England training, those boys are the same, so it’s about trying to adapt as quickly as possible.
“But when the real stuff starts on Saturday it doesn’t matter what temperature it is, Scotland at a World Cup can turn it up even more.
“We’re just absolutely delighted to be a part of it after so long and if we can just keep raising those standards every day, we’ll give ourselves the best possible chance of doing something we haven’t done before.”
Getting the recovery in #FIFAWorldCup | @FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/40znC8exgk
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) June 8, 2026
Clarke is the first head coach to lead Scotland to three major tournaments, after both campaigns in the European Championships in 2020 and 2024.
However, Scotland were eliminated at the group stage, while they have not got past the first stage of the World Cup in their previous eight appearances at the finals.
“Personally, I’ll do certain things differently,” McGinn expanded on righting the wrongs from previous campaigns.
“I didn’t play at my best in the last two major tournaments alongside probably some others in the group and in these games, these tournaments, you need your big players to pick them up in big moments.
“I think now I’ll enjoy the excitement building up to it, but as it gets closer to the games, I’ll focus on the game and not the occasion and that’s what I’ve learned, not only at club level but at international level.
“The more big experiences and big games you’re involved in you certainly adapt. You learn things that don’t work, and you learn things that work and I feel as if I’m more ready to prepare for these big games.”
