McGinn six goals shy of Dalglish and Law after Scotland’s 2-1 Nations League win
John McGinn scored twice as Scotland beat North Macedonia 2-1 in the Nations League, in a match watched by Scotland legend Kenny Dalglish; Tottenham left-back Andy Robertson made his 102nd appearance for his country.
McGinn’s double took him to 24 goals in his 94th Scotland appearance, leaving him six short of the 30-goal total held jointly by Dalglish and Denis Law. The source noted the night had been expected to centre on Robertson joining Dalglish as Scotland’s most-capped man and suggested Dalglish, now 75, might feel his goalscoring crown wobble. McGinn also pulled level with Hughie Gallacher in Scotland’s all-time scorers list.
After the game McGinn said: "It's something that's been in the back of my head." He added: "If I start climbing that table, it means we've been successful as a team." Now 32 years old, time is running out for him.
There was a period at the end of 2019 when McGinn scored six in three games, and his past highlights include an overhead kick against Austria and a late winner against Croatia in 2024. He acknowledged a dip in form, saying: "It has been a bit of a dry patch for me over the last year on the goal front," and he failed to find the back of the net for Scotland in 2025, the first time he'd done that since 2020.
Becoming Scotland's main penalty taker has boosted his totals; in his career he had only taken one spot-kick before this season - scoring for Scotland in the 3-3 draw against Norway back in 2023. In this campaign he has scored three and missed one, smacking the bar against Fulham on Halloween, then bouncing back to slot home against Manchester United the following week, before being caught on ref-cam admitting to the official that he was nervous to take it after his hitting the woodwork.
Striker Che Adams, who helped set up McGinn's first against North Macedonia, said: "He's not going to stop until he [gets the record]." Adams added: "Everyone's pleased for him, he's the best person I've met in football. For him to get the recognition he deserves is amazing."
McGinn's place in Scottish football culture was noted alongside anecdotes about his personality and training-room moments, including being speared by Steven Thompson in training, calling Scotland performances "jobby", and admitting he would "probably be at Yeovil" were it not for his backside.
On Sportsound former Scotland winger Pat Nevin said: "Isn't it great to have a John McGinn in your team?" He added: "He's somebody you'd want to have in your team to be taking a penalty for you. I'd be surprised if John McGinn doesn't get the goal record now. It might take him another year or two, but he is definitely capable of getting that record."
