Jack's on star watch every week but now he'd love some stars and stripes

Hendry is so determined to help Scotland reach World Cup finals

- BY FRASER WILSON

THE chance to mix it with the cream of international football makes the prospect of next year's World Cup something of an American dream for Jack Hendry.

He might be too young to remember the last time that Scotland made it to the greatest show on earth in 1998.

But the former Celtic and Dundee defender grew up idolising the superstars on his TV every four years - and fantasising about gracing the same stage.

Now the Scotland star stands 180 minutes away from making that dream a reality.

Yet pitting his wits against big-name stars from every corner of the globe is nothing new to the 30-year-old.

Not after the latest influx of megastars into the Saudi Pro League where the big Scot has plied his trade for the past two and a bit years.

Every week brings a top-level challenge for the defender.

A couple of weeks ago Hendry and his Al-Ettifaq teammates were on the wrong end of a 5-0 schooling by an Al-Hilal side featuring Uruguay hero Darwin Nunez, Portugal ace Ruben Neves and Serbian star Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.

This weekend they face Al-Shabab who will have Belgium's Yannick Carrasco and Morocco striker Abderrazak Hamdallah pulling the strings.

And he has also pitted his wits against the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr.