The 20-year-old who stole the show on Scotland's World Cup return

Winger Ben Gannon-Doak was Scotland's liveliest player as they edged out Haiti for a first World Cup win in 36 years

With 54 minutes on the clock, Ben Gannon-Doak let out a roar, clenched his fist and punched the air after shielding the ball out for a Scotland goal kick.

The winger celebrated the moment like he'd just scored the winning goal at the World Cup. This was seen as Scotland's final, after all.

The authentic, passionate outburst galvanised the Tartan Army spread throughout the Boston Stadium stands who were perhaps - and understandably - a little concerned at what was unfolding in their tournament opener against Haiti.

He got it, though. The "wee man" got it. He got what it meant to the many travelling Scots in Massachusetts. He typified them.

Scott McTominay had recovered from a stomach bug to start in Scotland's first men's World Cup game in 28 years. John McGinn - the eventual matchwinner - was given the nod from the off, too. Lawrence Shankland, the goal machine, led the line.

And yet the show was stolen by a 20-year-old who wasn't even born when Scotland last featured on the biggest stage of all.

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Two years ago, Gannon-Doak was something of a surprise inclusion in Steve Clarke's squad for Euro 2024.

The teenager never made the plane to Germany, though, as he was forced to pull out through injury. That's kind of been his story until now.

"The Euros probably came a bit too early, but I don't think I would have played if I was there," he told Sky Sports, external recently.

"I think if I did go and play, I wouldn't have given the best account of myself that I know that I could have done."

Electric and exciting on the international stage, the Bournemouth wideman showed the world why so many Scotland supporters were scunnered when he hirpled off against Denmark - after teeing up McTominay's overhead kick - in their final qualifier back in November.

That injury - his third major one in as many years - left his hamstring "hanging on by a thread".

Such spells on the sidelines have kept the eyes of the world at arm's length, but on his major finals debut he was in full focus.

'I pray before games & read the bible on my own'

Being in the spotlight is not new to Gannon-Doak.

At 16, he left Celtic for the bright lights of the Premier League with Liverpool.

It was far from a seamless move south, though, with the boy from North Ayrshire discovering football can be a lonely place when injured and away from home.

Brought up a Catholic, Gannon-Doak admits he "strayed away from it" for a while, before "hearing God call me, with an urge to get back into it".

"I just felt God calling me," the 20-year-old revealed in a film for BBC Scotland's A View from the Terrace earlier this year.

"I realised I started to feel a bit better and stronger and started coping better with things, and I just thought, 'Oh, that's not a coincidence'. I think that's the way it happened for me."

With God on his side, Gannon-Doak - who received a Bible from his gran - feels "strong and grounded" but it's something he practices in private.