'You've gone way too far!' - what pundits said about Scotland v Haiti as ex Celtic heroes clash

It may not have been pretty but Scotland do not care as Steve Clarke's side got their World Cup campaign off to a winning start in the early hours of Sunday morning with a 1-0 victory over Haiti in Foxborough.

Scotland's first World Cup win in 36 years and only their fifth in the entire history of the tournament has placed them top of Group C after Morocco and Brazil battled out a 1-1 draw in New Jersey earlier in the night.

The result has given Scotland a chance of reaching the knockout stages for the first time ever but they will require at least one point from their remaining matches against Morocco and Brazil or it will be left down to goal difference.

Scotland's John McGinn celebrates following a crucial 1-0 World Cup victory over Haiti at the Boston Stadium, Foxborough. (Photo by Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)

Do the unthinkable and beat either of those top 10 ranked nations and Scotland will guarantee progression as one of the top two teams in the group, rather than relying on finishing as one of the eight third-placed teams with the best record.

With the weight of expectation removed, Scotland will hope to improve on their performance against Haiti as they laboured at times against a side ranked 83rd in the world, 41 places below them.

BBC co-commentator James McFadden was simply relieved that Scotland got the win and managed to avoid repeating the dropping of points to lower ranked nation in previous World Cup openers such as Peru in 1974 and Costa Rica in 1990.

"Winning games at major tournaments isn't something Scotland do regularly," McFadden said. "Haiti caused problems, but the resilience shown - that's what has been forged in this group. The next two games are going to be tough, but they have dealt with the pressure of this game. It wasn't enjoyable but I would have taken an ugly 1-0 win before the game."

Pat Nevin, the former Chelsea and Scotland winger, pointed to a lack of control in midfield and highlighted one player who was noticeable by his absence. "We have never, ever missed Billy Gilmour more than we did tonight," he told BBC Sportsound. "A player who can get the ball, hold the ball, play passes, take it in difficult areas and be the metronome we know he can be.

"On top of that, we were playing 4-4-2 and were outnumbered in the middle of the park. The 4-4-2 system is not a good system for Scotland unless we are playing minnows. We thought we were playing minnows tonight.

"We will not play that system again like that in this World Cup but I understand why it was done. See all that stuff Billy Gilmour does for us? It's really special. I don't think anybody is going to be quaking in their boots to play Scotland but what they don't know is we can do a lot better than that, and that's maybe our secret weapon."

Former Aberdeen and Scotland defender Willie Miller added: "I was not expecting us to be dominated by a team that are 83rd in the world rankings. Perhaps we could surprise everybody in the world by doing something against Brazil and Morocco."

Scotland fans following the FIFA World Cup Group C victory over Haiti at the Boston Stadium, Foxborough. | PA

The full-time whistle against Haiti was the cue for wild celebrations among the thousands of Scotland fans inside Boston Stadium and inside fan zones both at home and in the US.

Former Celtic and England goalkeeper Joe Hart insisted he wasn't "hating" on the scenes after BBC host Kelly Cates said: "I’m just watching Joe Hart’s face as he’s watching these celebrations as Scotland have beaten Haiti, one of the lowest-ranked teams in the competition by one goal to nil and made it really difficult for themselves in this game. Just explain why this is such a big win for Scotland."

Hart, who won 75 caps for England, replied: "I’m not hating! I’m enjoying this, I wish I was in that stadium right now."

Scott Brown, the former Celtic and Scotland captain, added: "Joe, we never do anything easily. You wish you were Scottish, don’t you?"

Hart quickly responded: "No, you’ve gone way too far there! Way too far Scott!"

Addressing what it meant to the player and fans, Brown added: ‘It’s amazing for us. You go back to the last World Cup win, it’s so long ago. There’s probably so many fans in there that’s never seen Scotland at a World Cup, never seen us win a game.

"For them to pay the amount of money to go over there, enjoy it and share a special moment with the players and the backroom staff as well. Everyone throughout the nation deserves this. Everyone who’s staying up watching this as well, deserves this."