JOHN McGINN has been named among the top 50 players in Europe during the Nations League and EURO 2020 qualification campaign.
The Aston Villa midfielder was Scotland's most consistent performer according to the player rankings compiled by UEFA across the duration of both competitions.
McGinn, who is facing a race to be fit for the play-off against Israel on March 26 after sustaining a fractured ankle in a Premier League match against Southampton, underlined his value to Scotland with seven goals in eight qualifying matches, a total that included a brace in the crucial 3-1 win over Kazakhstan that ensured third place in Group I.
The FedEx Performance Zone ranked McGinn as the 47th best player in qualifying ahead of such luminaries as Croatia and Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric, Denmark's Christian Eriksen, Belgium's Kevin de Bruyne and Bosnia's Miralem Pjanic. The rankings were led by Memphis Depay, Frenkie de Jong in first and second place while England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was third.
Players were graded on attributes specific to their position, so in McGinn's case goals, assists, crosses and passes were taken into consideration.
The 25-year-old was also measured on balls recovered (23) which, when all criteria added together, was good enough for a total of 1097 points, 10 points more than former Celtic striker Teemu Pukki in 48th.
The next highest Scotland player was Ryan Christie in 207th while Andy Robertson ranked 331st.
Player data from the qualifying group stage of the UEFA Nations League formed the initial basis for the rankings, which were updated after every match to factor in players' subsequent displays in the European qualifiers, UEFA Nations League Finals and international friendlies.
The quality of opposition was factored into the algorithm too, with nations weighted according to the four UEFA Nations League divisions as well as UEFA's country coefficients.
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