Scotland man bounces back from horror World Cup moment to help side edge closer to Champions League

McKenna, 29, endured a painful summer in North America with the national team, having been forced to miss the side's opening two games against Haiti and Morocco with injury, only to make a major mistake on his return to the starting XI against Brazil as Scotland crashed out of the tournament at the group stages with a 3-0 defeat in Miami.

Making his first appearance since his error against Brazil, the former Aberdeen centre-back was named in Dinamo Zagreb’s starting line-up for their Champions League qualifying clash against FC Thun, and produced a powerful defensive performance as his side rescued a late 1-1 draw in Switzerland.

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The Croatian champions found themselves a goal down after just 20 minutes when Martinique striker Brighton Labeau put the home side into the lead with a clinical header just inside the area. Forced to withstand heavy pressure in the aftermath of the opener, the Swiss side launched multiple attacks after the opening goal but, anchored by McKenna, the visitors were able to absorb the pressure. McKenna almost found a surprise equaliser himself when he connected with a Miha Zajc corner minutes before the break. His header from the left side of the six-yard box was marginally over the bar.

Zagreb’s stubborn defensive performance did eventually pay off though, and they found themselves level with just minutes left to play at Visana Stadion via a strike from Zajc, levelling the tie in the 86th minute. At the heart of that impressive rear-guard display was McKenna, who produced an aerially dominant display, winning eight of his nine aerial duels, making nine clearances, two blocks and winning 100 per cent of his ground duels.

“We wanted to win,” said Zagreb head coach Mario Kovacevic after the game. “We started the match well, but we weren't good enough on the second balls. We were too nervous in attack, and that's why we kept losing possession. They are physically very strong and caused us problems from set pieces.

“I know we can play better. We had to compete more for the long balls, and we knew we couldn't lose our heads. We needed to be calmer in attack. The opposition cleared the ball off the line twice, while their first shot ended up in the net. I'm disappointed we didn't equalise earlier because I think we would have gone on to win."

The draw means they enter next weekend’s second leg in Croatia as favourites to qualify for round three of the Champions League playoffs, where the winner will face one of Ki Klaksvik or Kauno Zalgiris in the third qualifying round.