It's George Boyd v Gareth Bale as Hull City midfielder steps up to Scotland ranks
HULL City's George Boyd is hoping to fare better against Gareth Bale at the second time of asking if he makes his Scotland debut against Wales on Friday.
The 27-year-old forward – on loan at City from Peterborough and set to permanently join the Tigers on a two-year deal in the summer – came up against the Tottenham superstar when playing for Posh in the FA Cup in 2010.
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Hull City's George Boyd is watched by Scotland manager Gordon Strachan.
And he is honest enough to admit being "destroyed" by the Welshman as Spurs romped to a 4-0 win at White Hart Lane.
"I remember playing against him in the FA Cup. I was on the right wing and he was left wing and he destroyed me," Boyd said.
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"I am usually just running forward, but I was running towards my own goal for most of the game that time.
"But you would expect that with the level he is at, he is at the top of his game at the minute."
Bale scored a double in Wales' 2-1 win over the Scots in Cardiff in October and, having been called up to the Scotland squad for the first time, Boyd knows they will have their work cut out trying to keep him quiet again.
But he says Scotland can ill-afford to put all their focus on one player.
"I think he has to be the best player I have played against, with his power and pace, and he has added goals to his game this season so he is becoming the complete player," Boyd said.
"He is a world class player but he is one man, he is not the whole team.
"Obviously, he did well in the last game, scoring two, but it would be foolish for us just to concentrate on one player.
"We have some fantastic options as well so I'm sure they will be wary of them."
Boyd, who was born in England but qualifies for Scotland through his grandfather, thought his international career was up and running when he scored for Scotland B in a 3-0 win over their Northern Ireland counterparts in August 2009.
However, he did not make the step-up until the arrival of new manager Gordon Strachan, who had tried to sign him when he was boss at Middlesbrough.
"I was disappointed that I didn't make the breakthrough earlier," Boyd added.
"I thought I did quite well in the B game but for one reason or another it didn't work out but I am delighted to be here.
"You do think that chance has passed you by, but you try to keep going and with the move to Hull and going for the Premier League, it puts you in the spotlight a bit more so it has been good
"I think he (Strachan) tried to sign me when I was at Peterborough and he was at Middlesbrough but for some reason that didn't happen, I think Peterborough wanted a bit too much money.
"I am just delighted that he has given me the chance to show what I can do here.
"It is nice that he showed interest in me earlier, he must like me as a player, but I just kept my head down and kept playing well for Peterborough and now Hull and finally it has happened. He just told me to enjoy the week's training and see what happens."
Of course, should Boyd mark a debut with a goal, it would be the cue for a big celebration.
But don't expect a repeat of the gesture made at the KC Stadium last Saturday, when he reached for his eyes and mocked wearing a pair of glasses, in a joking reference to his failed eye test which led to a potential move to Nottingham Forest collapsing in January.
"That was nice," he said.
"I was getting a bit of stick from their fans so I gave a bit back when I scored, although I was disappointed to lose.
"Everyone was texting me in the morning of the game to make sure I did something, one of them was to use the corner flag for the celebration but I think that one was all right."
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