McGinn in the form of his life and now dancing to Scotland's tune

Day one at Scotland HQ, east of uptown Charlotte, and there's a bunfight brewing - or to be more accurate, angry Norwegians are taking potshots at Steve Clarke, who, we can only surmise, couldn't care less what the Norwegians think.

Stale Solbakken, the Norway head coach, and Brede Hangeland, the team manager, have let fly in the media about a training game between the reserve players from the two countries that Clarke cancelled.

Who knew that the ditching of a meaningless bounce match could spark such fury.

"Unprofessional," trumpeted Solbakken of his Scottish counterpart. "Embarrassing" and "weak" whinged Hangeland.

Just before the Scotland news conference at their palatial Charlotte base camp, three Norwegian reporters fetched up in search of Scottish retaliatory thunder.

What they got was a cool response from John McGinn, not just super with the ball at his feet but also pretty nifty with a microphone in front of his face.

"I would say 75% of the [Scotland] squad haven't seen it," he said of the Norwegian anger, smiling as he spoke.

"I did see it. Our job is to look after Scotland. Norway's job is to look after Norway. And if they've done their research, we lost a very important part of the squad [in Billy Gilmour] very, very close to this camp.

"It had a huge impact on everyone. We didn't want to lose another. We had a few niggles, not everyone's been training.

"So I think it's a professional way of handling things, to be perfectly honest, and look after number one. I'm sure every single country will be doing the exact same.

"If Norway lost Erling Haaland or Martin Odegaard in one of the games leading up to Saturday, they would cancel the game as well."

If Scotland hit the mark in their upcoming matches the way McGinn did in front of the media then this could be a special World Cup.

He was funny, thoughtful and deep on his football upbringing and the things he has learned along the way. And, of course, on the 25ft mural in his honour that's been painted on the side of a house in his home town of Clydebank.

This is the third mural in tribute to Scottish players - Scott McTominay's overhead kick against Denmark is on the end of a tenement building near Hampden and the people of Liverpool have paid their own tribute to their former son, Andy Robertson, on a house near Anfield.

"It's a bit strange, but obviously it filled me with pride to see it," said McGinn. "All my little cousins, my nieces and nephews have had a look.

"Hopefully it can inspire young kids from Clydebank to know that one of their own is on the world's biggest stage.

"Actually, the person's house it's on, I went to school with their son. He might feel a bit weird, but it's on Jake Anderson's house. A generation's missed out, but thankfully this generation of children will see us on the side of buildings."

McGinn is the darling of the Tartan Army, the 'Super John McGinn' song being as much a part of their world as kilts and bevvy.

He's the one, more than all others, who fans identify with, a superstar with his feet firmly on the ground, a player they feel they know even if they don't.

Two years ago at the Euros he arrived in Scotland's training centre in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and did a Bavarian dance called the schuhplattler at the welcoming ceremony, Tyrolean hat on his head, oompah music playing. Good knockabout stuff.

It would have been fine had Scotland gone on to play well. Having failed, it all looked a touch ridiculous. Lesson learned. More than one, actually.

"Do I regret that? Maybe," he said.

"But at that point I'm not thinking we wouldn't be successful. I had belief at that time. They were looking for a volunteer and, obviously, this mug was number one.

"I don't think there'll be much dancing before this tournament, but if we manage to get through the group, I can put that back on and do the dance again.

"Personally, I'll do certain things differently. I didn't play at my best in the last two major tournaments alongside probably some others in the group.

"In these tournaments, you need your big players to come up with big moments. I'll enjoy the excitement building up to it but as it gets closer, I'll focus on the game and not the occasion. And that's what I've learned, not only at club level, but international level.

"The more big experiences and big games you're involved in, you certainly adapt. You learn things that don't work and you learn things that work. I feel as if I'm more ready."

With 20 Scotland goals to his name, McGinn ranks fifth in his nation's all-time top scorer chart, a shortlist of icons from down the generations.

He's 10 behind Denis Law and Kenny Dalglish, the greatest players who ever put on a Scotland jersey, three behind the 1928 Wembley Wizard Hughie Gallacher and two behind Lawrie Reilly, the Hibs immortal.

He's arriving at this World Cup in the finest form of his life, a Europa League winner, a Champions League place secured for next season and his childhood World Cup dream realised. He was three years old the last time Scotland played on the biggest stage.

McGinn was reflective when asked about his early years. "I remember going into the St Mirren changing room before one of my first starts and Stevie Thompson said, 'It's your jersey now, keep it'. And that stuck in my head my whole career."

What Thompson said to McGinn then, McGinn is saying now to the younger members in Clarke's squad - Tyler Fletcher and Findlay Curtis aged 19 (he turns 20 on Tuesday) and Ben Gannon-Doak aged 20.

"If these boys get a chance to get their jersey, whether that's mine, [Scott] McTominay's, Che Adams', it's theirs to keep.

"That's what you want in any club, any nation. We all want the one thing and that's the country to be successful.

"So the young players aren't here to make up the numbers. They're here to make an impact and start their own careers with Scotland. And if that means taking someone out of the team, that's their job."

In McGinn, they have the best mentor they could possibly have, a player with fire and class and belief, a leader who's waited his entire career for weeks like these.