McGinn double earns Scotland 2-1 win as Robertson equals caps record

John McGinn scored twice as Scotland beat North Macedonia 2-1 at Hampden Park on Friday, November 13, keeping their bid for second place in their Nations League group alive. His second-half penalty settled the match after the visitors had quickly cancelled out his opening goal, according to BBC Sport's match coverage.

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McGinn put Scotland ahead in the 54th minute from Ché Adams's assist, but Elmin Rastoder equalised three minutes later from an Enis Bardhi corner. The decisive moment came when goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski challenged Ben Gannon-Doak in the penalty area. Following a VAR review, Scotland received a spot-kick and McGinn converted in the 74th minute to restore the lead.

Scotland had opportunities to take control earlier. Dimitrievski denied Scott McTominay before half-time, and Billy Gilmour missed an open goal after the break while the match remained scoreless. The hosts eventually secured the victory, but BBC Sport reported that head coach Sébastien Pocognoli felt his team should have finished the contest sooner and had lost concentration after scoring first.

The evening also brought an individual milestone for Scotland's captain. Andy Robertson made his 102nd international appearance, equalling Kenny Dalglish's national record, The Guardian reported. Robertson had reached 100 caps in the reverse fixture in Skopje last month, when Scotland won 2-0. That match gave Pocognoli his first victory in charge, Sky Sports reported at the time, and featured Kieron Bowie's first international goal.

McGinn also scored a penalty in that October victory, after Bojan Miovski was penalised for handball. Scotland finished that game with ten players following Scott McKenna's dismissal. Friday's win completed a pair of victories over North Macedonia in this campaign, with McGinn contributing three goals across the two meetings. Both of Pocognoli's wins in his opening five matches have come against the same opponents.

Scotland now have seven points, one behind second-placed Slovenia, before visiting Switzerland on Monday. Slovenia drew 0-0 with Switzerland on Friday, leaving the Scots needing help from another result to climb into second place. North Macedonia remain bottom of the group without a point after five matches.