John McGinn, who scored the winning goal in Scotland’s World Cup opener against Haiti, has spoken out about Roy Keane’s pre-match comments comparing him to a pub player.
John McGinn was the hero of Scotland’s World Cup victory over Haiti.
John McGinn has defended Roy Keane after he said the Irish midfielder sometimes “looked like a pub player” before his World Cup heroics.
McGinn etched his name into the history books on Saturday when he scored the only goal in Scotland’s first World Cup victory in a generation against Haiti. Scotland achieved their first World Cup victory in 36 years in the opening game of the tournament. Their last World Cup appearance was in 1998.
In recent years, McGinn has established himself as one of Scotland and Aston Villa’s most important players, with the 31-year-old captain leading Villa to Europa League glory just weeks before departing to represent his country at the World Cup.
But Mr Keane was questioned for criticizing Mr McGinn’s level. “McGinn is one of those guys. When he’s not doing well, he’s like a pub player,” said an ITV pundit before Scotland’s historic win over Haiti.
“When he’s not doing well, he’s shocking. I’ve been watching him for a long time. When he’s not doing well, he’s amazing. But it’s good to have him in the group. Of course.”
While some may have been furious at Keane’s comments, McGinn quipped that the former Manchester United and Republic of Ireland midfielder had a point, before speculating that the pundit was ultimately trying to praise him.
“He’s been criticized for that, but I didn’t think what he said was that bad! He followed it up with something complimentary,” McGinn told ITV.
“He was right. Actually, as I get older, I think I have fewer and fewer matches where I look like a pub player. I try to play less and less like that and play more consistently. But I didn’t think it was that bad.”
McGinn was likened to a ‘pub player’ during his worst days by Roy Keane (Image: Getty Images)
McGinn agrees with Keane that Steve Clarke’s side have nothing to fear in the remaining group stages, although the results of the games against Morocco and Brazil will decide whether Scotland progress to the finals.
McGinn continued: “People were saying, ‘Oh, did you see what he said?’ I thought it was great that they were talking about me! He’s right about[Scotland]. We have nothing to fear going into these games.”
“All the pressure will be on Morocco, all the pressure will be on Brazil.”
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive Mirror Football content every day. Community members also receive special offers, promotions, and advertisements from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check it out whenever you like. If you are interested, please read our privacy notice.
Upgrade your World Cup TV setup with Sky Glass ‘designed for soccer’
From £4.50
sky
Get the deal here
Sky is marking the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup by reducing prices by 20% on its entire range of glass TVs. Until June 17, shoppers can upgrade to a Sky smart TV ‘designed for football’ from £4.50 a month when taken with a Sky TV and Netflix package.
