John McGinn now sits six goals behind Kenny Dalglish and Denis Law. Two second-half strikes in Scotland’s 2-1 Nations League win over North Macedonia at Hampden Park on Friday, November 13, took the Aston Villa captain to 24 international goals and level with Hughie Gallacher in third place on the country’s all-time list.
Dalglish and Law share the Scotland record at 30 goals each. Nobody has reached that mark in the four decades since Dalglish played his last international in 1986.
How the goals went in
The first half ended goalless despite Scotland controlling the ball. Scott McTominay tested goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski twice and even tried an overhead kick that cleared the bar.
McGinn broke through in the 54th minute, running onto a pass after good work by Ché Adams and finishing with his right foot. North Macedonia leveled three minutes later, when Elmin Rastoder headed in an Enes Bardhi corner.
The winner came from the spot. Substitute Oli McBurnie sent Ben Gannon-Doak through, Dimitrievski brought him down, and the referee awarded a penalty after a VAR review at the pitchside monitor. McGinn rolled it down the middle in the 74th minute.
It was a big night for more than one player. Andy Robertson won his 102nd cap to draw level with Dalglish as Scotland’s most capped player, Ryan Christie came off the bench for his 75th, and head coach Sébastien Pocognoli recorded his first win at Hampden.
The all-time list after Friday
- Denis Law: 30 goals in 55 caps (1958-1974)
- Kenny Dalglish: 30 goals in 102 caps (1971-1986)
- Hughie Gallacher: 24 goals in 20 caps (1924-1935)
- John McGinn: 24 goals in 94 caps (2016-present)
- Lawrie Reilly: 22 goals in 38 caps (1948-1957)
How long could the record chase take?
The numbers give a rough timeline. McGinn has scored 24 goals in 94 games, about 0.26 per match. At that career rate, six more goals would take roughly 23 more caps (6 divided by 0.26). His 2026 form is sharper: four goals in 11 appearances, a rate of about 0.36, which would cut the wait to around 17 caps (6 divided by 0.36). Scotland usually play about ten matches a year, so on either pace he would need well over a year, and likely two, to draw level.
McGinn turned 32 in October. His international scoring came late; his first Scotland goal arrived in September 2019, more than three years after his debut against Denmark in March 2016. He then scored seven times in that Euro 2020 qualifying group, including a first-half hat-trick against San Marino.
This year has carried extra weight. His goal against Haiti in June gave Scotland their first World Cup win since 1990 and made him, at 31 years and 238 days, the oldest Scot to score at a World Cup. He has also scored in both Nations League games against North Macedonia this autumn.
Badiyaa previewed Robertson’s chase in our piece on Andy Robertson matching Kenny Dalglish’s 102 Scotland caps, and the managerial shake-up across British football continues with Mauricio Pochettino’s move to Manchester United.
Scotland’s last match of 2026 is on Monday, November 16, against Switzerland at the Sitterstadion in St. Gallen, where a win keeps their hopes of second place in Group B1 alive.
Further reading
Image: Scottish Government, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
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