Ahead of Scotland's clash with North Macedonia, much of the focus has fallen on John McGinn, the Aston Villa captain who is closing in on a century of caps for his country while quietly enduring questions about his recent international form. The match also marks a landmark occasion for Andy Robertson, who is set to win his 100th cap, but it is McGinn's standing as Scotland's talisman that has drawn particular scrutiny.
Should he feature on Saturday, McGinn will move to 92 caps, placing him third on Scotland's all-time appearance list. He also sits fifth in the nation's scoring charts, just one goal shy of the legendary Lawrie Reilly. Despite these remarkable numbers, there is a sense that McGinn's influence in a Scotland shirt has dimmed somewhat from the heights he once reached, with match-winning contributions becoming rarer. His last international goal before a deflected effort against Haiti at the World Cup came almost two years earlier.
Speaking candidly about the pressures that come with his role, McGinn, who turns 32 later this month, acknowledged the fine line between adulation and criticism that accompanies senior players at both club and international level. "The nature of the beast is, at club and country, you have a lot of responsibility, a lot of weight on your shoulders," he said. "When you do something well, you're the best thing since sliced bread. When you don't have a great couple of games, or you're not producing assists, or you make a poor pass in a pivotal moment of the game, you're automatically not good enough."
He added that such scrutiny is simply part of being an experienced figure in the squad. "It's the nature of being my age. It's the nature of competing with Scotland and with Aston Villa. I take the praise with a big smile. Any criticism that comes, it's just part of it."
Despite his lofty cap count, McGinn was quick to reject any notion that he considers himself undroppable, recalling being left out by former manager Steve Clarke without complaint. "I'm certainly not undroppable," he said. "I don't think anyone in the squad is undroppable. It's the challenge to anyone coming into the squad and I encourage that challenge. The competition is always there, whether that's someone who's 20, 21 or in their 30s. The best players will play for Scotland. If the manager said to me, 'You're on the bench, I need you for five minutes, ten minutes, zero minutes or 90-plus', we're here to represent Scotland. The thing that's made us so successful over the years is that it doesn't matter if you play for Aston Villa, Motherwell, Hibs, St Mirren, anyone. You represent Scotland and at the end of the day the best team will take to the pitch. If that's a team without me in it, I'll be the biggest Scotland supporter on the bench."
Asked what continues to motivate him after nearly a decade of international service, McGinn pointed back to his debut. "What keeps me going is how I felt on that first night against Denmark – the pride, the emotion. When you're picked to play for your country, you never know when it's going to be your last, so you don't take it for granted. Quite possibly tomorrow night, you never know. It could be the last time you're chosen."
Beyond the national team, McGinn's standing at Aston Villa has reached near-legendary status. Since joining from Hibernian, he has been central to the club's rise from the Championship to European competition, captaining the side to a continental trophy last season and setting their European scoring record. Unlike several high-profile teammates who departed for bigger moves, McGinn has remained at Villa Park throughout the club's transformation.
Reflecting on how he copes with fluctuating form and public opinion, McGinn said experience has helped him manage the mental side of the game. "If I was younger, I would have been straight on Instagram or straight on Twitter. Everyone's entitled to their opinion, but at the end of the day, you keep your head down, you keep working hard. The older you get, you learn how to manage tough moments better. They get worse, though. The lows get lower and the highs become less high. But you certainly deal with it a lot better when you're older."
With eight caps still needed to match Robertson's century, McGinn insists his best moments for Scotland are far from behind him, even as supporters await a reminder of the quality that has made him one of the side's most important figures over the past decade.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport Football.