John McGinn Hailed as Scotland's Saviour as Aston Villa Captain Closes in on Historic Record

John McGinn has been receiving plenty of praise from the Scottish media after his two goals secured a 2-1 victory over North Macedonia at Hampden Park on Friday night, although the reaction to Scotland's overall performance has been considerably less positive, with the Aston Villa captain emerging as the player who dragged his country over the line on an evening that could quite easily have ended in another disappointing result.

For Villa supporters, there is nothing particularly surprising about seeing McGinn take responsibility when his team needs somebody to make something happen, but what stood out when looking through the reaction from Scotland was just how much emphasis was placed on his individual contribution, particularly given the struggles the national side have experienced since Sebastien Pocognoli replaced Steve Clarke.

Scotland were expected to beat a North Macedonia side that had arrived at Hampden without a goal in their previous eight matches, but they made extremely hard work of it, with McGinn opening the scoring in the 54th minute before the visitors equalised just three minutes later. With the atmosphere becoming increasingly uncomfortable, the Villa captain stepped up to convert a penalty with just over a quarter of an hour remaining to secure the victory.

The Scotsman awarded McGinn an 8/10, describing him as "Scotland's most dynamic player" and suggesting that supporters had witnessed something much closer to the midfielder's best form after a couple of disappointing international performances.

"This was more like vintage McGinn," was their assessment, which probably sums up the difference he made on an evening when Scotland were struggling to impose themselves on the opposition.

It was a similar theme across the wider coverage, with Ewan Murray, writing for The Guardian, focusing on how McGinn's two goals had spared Scotland considerable embarrassment, while Sky Sports highlighted the frustration of the Hampden crowd, who booed their side off at half-time before greeting the final whistle with more relief than celebration.

There is a fairly consistent message running through those assessments, because nobody was particularly impressed with Scotland as a team, but there was widespread recognition that McGinn had delivered when it mattered most.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the coverage, however, is the growing recognition that McGinn could actually finish his international career as Scotland's greatest-ever goalscorer, something that would have seemed almost impossible when he was establishing himself in the national side.

His double against North Macedonia took him to 24 international goals in 94 appearances, moving him level with Hughie Gallacher in third place on Scotland's all-time scoring list, with only Kenny Dalglish and Denis Law ahead of him on 30.

When you consider the calibre of those two players, and the fact that McGinn has spent the majority of his career operating in midfield rather than as an out-and-out forward, it is a pretty extraordinary achievement.

McGinn admitted afterwards that the record is something he has been thinking about, telling reporters: "It's been something that's been in the back of my head," although he was keen to stress that Scotland's results remain his priority.

He also acknowledged that it had been a relatively quiet period for him in front of goal over the previous couple of years, before joking: "We could do with another few penalties but we'll see how that goes."

Scotland manager Pocognoli certainly believes the record is within reach, telling The Scotsman that he expects McGinn to eventually overtake Dalglish and Law, although he was keen to emphasise the importance of the collective rather than individual achievements.

There was also the added significance of the evening having originally been about Andy Robertson, who equalled Dalglish's Scotland appearance record with his 102nd cap, only for McGinn to end up dominating the headlines with his two goals.

One thing I found particularly interesting about the coverage was the contrast between the praise for McGinn and the criticism being directed towards Scotland, because there was very little attempt from the press to dress this up as a convincing performance simply because they had managed to win the game.

The Guardian raised questions about Pocognoli's tactical approach and whether the national side were actually progressing under their new manager, while McGinn himself was refreshingly honest about the performance afterwards.

"At times it wasn't pretty, but it was an important one," he told BBC Scotland, before acknowledging that the players needed to show "a bit more belief."

There is a wider issue here for Scotland because they have some very good individual players, particularly in midfield, but getting the balance right and finding a way of consistently creating opportunities remains a problem.

That is where McGinn becomes so valuable, because he is somebody who can influence a game without everything necessarily functioning perfectly around him, whether that is through his movement into dangerous areas, his ability to retain possession under pressure or his willingness to make runs that other midfield players might not make.

His opening goal was a good example of that, with Che Adams doing well to compete for the ball and McGinn recognising the opportunity to get into the penalty area before producing a composed finish, while there was also something to be said for the mentality required to take the penalty after Scotland had already surrendered their lead.

McGinn also made an interesting comparison between Scotland's struggles to adapt to a new playing style and what Villa experienced earlier in the season, telling BBC Scotland: "It reminds me of my club team at the start of the season, it's important we just stick together."

I think that is quite revealing because he clearly recognises that there are going to be difficulties when a manager is trying to implement something different, and rather than simply concentrating on his own contribution after scoring twice, he was already looking at the bigger picture and what Scotland need to improve.

From an Aston Villa perspective, I think there are two ways of looking at McGinn's performance, because while it is obviously encouraging to see him playing with that level of confidence and scoring important goals, it also serves as another reminder of just how much football he has played and how important it is that his workload is managed properly.

At 32, McGinn remains a hugely influential player for both club and country, and the qualities Scotland are relying upon are exactly the same ones that have made him so important at Villa, even if his role under Unai Emery is not always identical to the one he performs for his country.

There are occasions when McGinn can be criticised for not necessarily being the most eye-catching player on the pitch, particularly when Villa have other attacking options who might offer more in certain situations, but I think there is sometimes a tendency to overlook how much he contributes to the structure and mentality of the team.

He has an understanding of when to slow things down, when to be aggressive and when to take responsibility, and although there are obviously other players within Villa's squad who possess different qualities, replacing everything McGinn offers would be extremely difficult.

McGinn himself certainly doesn't appear to be thinking about slowing down, telling reporters: "I'm still 32," before explaining how the recovery facilities and support available to him at Villa have helped him maintain his fitness.

"I'm just as hungry as I was when I was 22," was his assessment, and I think that probably tells you everything about his mentality.

The Scottish press have understandably concentrated on the fact that he rescued his country from a potentially embarrassing result, but the bigger picture is that McGinn is now approaching territory that very few players in Scotland's history have managed to reach.

Six more goals would take him level with Dalglish and Law, and while there is still a considerable amount of work required to get there, the fact that we are even discussing an Aston Villa midfielder potentially becoming Scotland's all-time leading goalscorer is remarkable in itself.