John McGinn admitted that missing out on the 2022 World Cup finals still irks after he scored a superb consolation goal in Scotland’s 2-1 friendly defeat in Turkey.
Goals from defender Ozan Kabak and attacker Cengiz Under had given the slick-moving home side a comfortable lead and it was not until the Aston Villa midfielder reduced the deficit in the 61st minute with an excellent finish after a powerful run that the Scots turned the game around, although there was to be no leveller.
McGinn moved on to 15 Scotland goals, the same as former Scotland attacker James McFadden, but he could not help thinking about the Qatar tournament which begins on Sunday and which will not feature the Scots or, indeed, the Turks.
He told BBC Radio Scotland: “It (goal) means a lot. I am just happy to help the team.
“The manager started me off a little bit deeper tonight but at half-time told me to get up alongside Lyndon [Dykes] and cause some problems and, thankfully, I got another goal.
“In the end, I just want to be involved in a team that is playing in major tournaments.
“The build-up to the World Cup has stung us, hurt us, so the reality of that has kicked in and we will use that to drive us on to make sure we’re in Germany and USA after that.”
