Andy Robertson celebrated becoming only the second Scotland player to reach 100 caps with a 2-0 victory over North Macedonia, giving Sebastien Pocognoli a winning start as manager.
Scotland secured their first win of the 2026-27 Nations League in Skopje after Kieron Bowie scored his first international goal and John McGinn converted a second-half penalty.
The result followed a goalless draw with Slovenia and a 3-0 home defeat by Switzerland, leaving Scotland with a much-needed victory under their new manager.
Bowie opened the scoring in the seventh minute with an impressive finish. He turned away from Mario Mladenovski before sending a shot from outside the area into the bottom-right corner.
McGinn doubled the advantage from the penalty spot in the 69th minute after Bojan Miovski was judged to have handled the ball during a scramble in the North Macedonia penalty area. Scott McKenna headed against the post in the same incident before later being sent off.
Robertson, meanwhile, reached a landmark that had previously been achieved by only Kenny Dalglish, who won 102 Scotland caps.
Dalglish’s 30 international goals remain the joint-highest total for a Scotland player, alongside Denis Law. Robertson, who has scored four times for his country, came close to adding to his tally in the opening stages.
He had never previously attempted four shots in a Scotland match, but reached that figure within the first 13 minutes. North Macedonia goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski produced one outstanding save to deny the Liverpool left-back.
“It means everything to me, and it means everything to my family,” Robertson told BBC Scotland afterwards.
“I’ve been away now 100 times; I’ve got to feel sorry for my wife! It’s been an unbelievable journey. I remember my first game, and it’s been a process since then.
“It’s emotional for me. I love this country, there’s only one person before me in the men’s game to do that, so it’s a pretty special achievement.
“I thought Kenny Dalglish was going to be worried about his goalscoring record in the first few minutes! I had about six shots!
“They did a nice presentation for me; I told them I wanted the win. The lads did so well to get the win, it’ll be a special one for me and my family.”
McGinn said Scotland must build on the result when they host Slovenia on Tuesday, while praising Pocognoli for giving the team a clear identity.
“The most important thing tonight was a win and a clean sheet,” McGinn said. “When results go against you, things are said about you both personally and as a team, it’s part of football.
“We deserve the praise that comes tonight. It was not an easy game, but we handled it well.
“The manager has brought a lot of ideas, a lot of identity, and it’s up to us to buy into it. It’s up to us to keep believing in what he wants to do and bring our qualities to the pitch.
“Tuesday’s going to be a difficult game, but we’ve got to back this up with another win.”
