Scotland hero John McGinn has a new namesake, and this one has a wand of a left flipper.
Edinburgh Zoo named a gentoo penguin chick McGinn after the midfielder netted Scotland’s first World Cup goal in 28 years.
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), which runs the capital attraction, unveiled the cheeky tribute ahead of Scotland’s final group game against Brazil at 11pm on 24 June.
The deflected strike against Haiti wasn’t a classic by any means, but the occasion was of such significance that zookeepers felt compelled to call the penguin McGinn.
Zookeeper Alison MacLean said: “After John McGinn scored Scotland’s first World Cup goal in 28 years, we wanted to mark the moment.
“Then we spotted one of our gentoo chicks had a strong left flipper – and the name picked itself.
“Our McGinn will not be finding the net anytime soon, but we hope visitors love watching this curious chick grow. Who knows — Steve Clarke might have a place for them in the 2030 squad.”
Keepers at Penguins Rock have even given the chick a blue-and-white Scotland-style armband so fans can spot him among more than 150 penguins.
The real John McGinn will almost certainly start for Scotland in their final group game against Brazil.
Scotland fell to a frustrating 1-0 defeat against Morocco, but will all but guarantee qualification for the knockout round if they avoid defeat against Brazil – easier said than done, admittedly.
Tickets can be booked to see penguin McGinn on the Edinburgh Zoo website.
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