Scotland’s Jack Hendry relishing prospect of going head to head with Neymar

Jack Hendry has no fear of coming up against Neymar should the Brazil star return to action for the World Cup clash with Scotland on Wednesday.

The 34-year-old forward missed his side’s first two Group C games with a calf injury, but head coach Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed he is fit to play against the Scots in Miami.

As a Club Brugge player in the 2021/22 season, Hendry played in a Champions League game against Neymar when he was part of a Paris St Germain forward line which also included Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe.

When the 31-year-old Scotland defender moved to Al-Ettifaq in 2023, Neymar joined him in Saudi Arabia by signing for Al-Hilal, although he has since moved to Brazilian side Santos.

Speaking at Scotland’s training base at Charlotte, North Carolina, Hendry was asked about the prospect of playing against Neymar again.

The former Dundee and Celtic defender said calmly: “Yeah, no problem. Obviously, he was out in the league I was in (in Saudi Arabia).

“I’m quite comfortable coming up against Neymar and I look forward to it, it really should be a good battle.

“I think he got injured out in Saudi, he did his ACL, which was unfortunate, obviously I would have played against him more.

“I played against him in the Champions League when he was at PSG, obviously that was a good test.

“Obviously the front three at that time were Messi, Mbappe and Neymar. It’s a not bad front three so it was a good experience.

“I think the first game, we did well. I think maybe 0-0 or 1-1, I can’t remember, but I think that was one of the first games they played together.

“So you need to be concentrated, playing against these kind of players, because one split second you switch off, they can punish you, so it was a good experience.

“You learn a lot from these moments, playing against these top calibre players.

“So I look forward to it and we’ll see if plays.”

One point will almost certainly guarantee Steve Clarke’s side a place in the last 32, with even the three points already garnered against Haiti offering the possibility of a place in the knockout stages, and Hendry, who was impressive in the 1-0 win over Haiti and the 1-0 defeat to Morocco, is relishing the challenge.

He said: “These are the type of games that you want to be involved in and it’s going be extremely exciting.

“There’s a lot on the line and we have worked extremely hard to be in the position that we are in, so we’re desperate to do well in that game and make it a memorable night.

“I really enjoy playing at this level. I think it suits my game and I’m very happy, obviously in the minutes that I have got so far and to have been able to help the team along the way. Hopefully I can continue that.”