Scotland midfielder John McGinn has his heart set on qualifying for the 2026 World Cup after a disappointing Euro 2024 campaign with his nation.
The Tartan Army play two Nations League matches during the international break, first against Poland before travelling to Portugal on Sunday.
McGinn’s side took just one point from nine in Germany this summer and it was an experience the Aston Villa man says he will not forget.
Speaking to BBC Sport, he said: “You definitely don’t park them.
“I still think about getting relegated at St Mirren. What I could have changed? What you could do better – these things never leave you.
“Everyone always says the highs in football make the lows worth it, but that’s a lie, so it’ll always be in the back of your head things you could have done differently both together as a team and individually.
“We’ve come a long way as a nation to qualify for these tournaments.
🗣️ ‘You don’t park them [those feelings of disappointment], I still think about getting relegated with St Mirren’
John McGinn says he won’t be able to park the disappointment of Scotland at the Euros, but wants to look forward and not back.#BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/o4cWMAZwmd
— BBC Sport Scotland (@BBCSportScot) September 2, 2024
“We didn’t want that to just be enough, we all know we could have done better in the summer, but now there’s a new batch of players coming in, a sort of different feel with the squad, and hopefully it’ll re-energise all of us individually and hopefully everyone in the country as well.”
The Nations League provides the Scots with good opportunities to face opponents also vying for a spot in the US for the World Cup.
And that is the target for everyone involved, according to the 29-year-old.
He added: “We’ve got a couple of years now to try to get to a World Cup.
“We’ve not achieved that in a long time.
“This group’s managed to achieve things and break the pattern of not qualifying for tournaments. We’ve obviously not built on that.
“Thursday, it’s about us getting on the front foot, embracing being in the top division in the Nations League, which is a first for us. We’ll probably have a lot more people to prove wrong.
“We’re all behind the manager and he certainly seems hungry and ready to go again and hopefully we can do what no-one’s managed to do for a long time and get to another major tournament.”
