Media in Scotland have now shared a mixed review of Aston Villa captain John McGinn’s showing in Scotland’s draw against Switzerland on Wednesday.
McGinn was criticised for his opening performance of the tournament against Germany, as were most of Scotland’s players.
But against Switzerland on Wednesday evening, McGinn and his teammates demonstrated a considerable improvement, drawing the game 1-1.
And when McGinn and Scotland face Hungary on Sunday, they now have a strong chance of qualifying from their group should they win.
That being said, following Scotland’s draw, McGinn’s individual performance has been scrutinised by local media.
McGinn is as crucial for his country as he is for Unai Emery at Villa Park – a player who will become even more important in the middle if Douglas Luiz does leave.
And although McGinn was clearly better than he was against Germany in the 5-1 defeat, sources were split on his performance.
John McGinn handed 5/10 rating for Scotland vs Switzerland despite improvement
The Scotsman handed McGinn the lowest rating of the bunch, a 5/10 for his endeavours.
Their write up simply read: “Played at times a second striker and was very lively in the press.
“Did not see much of the ball in the opening half and endured a frustrating second half, picking up a booking later in the game for a challenge on Fabian Schar.”
Edinburgh News shared similar sentiments, handing McGinn a 6/10 and writing: “Probably not his best match in a Scotland shirt but not a poor performance. Another who enjoyed the physical battle.”
Fortunately, Football Scotland were more complimentary of McGinn’s efforts, citing his improvement from the game in Munich.
They shared: “Far more involved in the game than in Munich and showed that aggressiveness we’ve become accustomed to. Won a number of free-kicks for the team.”
Either way, Aston Villa fans will just be proud to watch one of several players flying the club’s flag at Euro 2024.
And with England set to face Denmark, Villa fans will surely be hoping that Ollie Watkins can enjoy his first minutes of the tournament, perhaps making a substitute appearance late on.
Watkins seemed unfortunate not to be deployed against a tiring Serbia defence on Sunday, but surely will get his chance.
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