SCOTLAND captain Colin Hendry was aiming to repeat his command of Ronaldo against the man Norwegians know as Flo-naldo in Bordeaux tonight.

Chelsea forward Tore Andre Flo is the striking talent compared favourably with the Brazilian whose side beat Scotland 2-1 in the Group A opener.

But Blackburn Rovers ace Hendry, for all Flo's free-scoring ability, was reluctant to draw comparisons with Ronaldo ahead of a game from which Scotland had to take at least a point to keep their hopes of World Cup progress alive.

When told of the term of affection for the attacker, Hendry said: "Flo-naldo? Not unless he wears the same boots.

"I've played against him for Blackburn at Chelsea this season when we beat them 1-0 in an important win for us and I want to do well again.

"It's not a personal thing tonight though, he's a young lad who has done well at Chelsea playing a different system to what he does for his country." Flo is not a regular at Stamford Bridge where he is effectively in competition for a place with Chelsea player-manager Gianluca Vialli. But Hendry is convinced periods of rest have helped the forward in his first season in England following his summer switch from Brann.

Hendry added: "He has been brought in and left out at various intervals, but that can only be good for him because he has not been expected to complete a whole, full season at once. It's quite a lot to ask in your early days to complete a whole season in the Premiership in England because it is very demanding."

Scotland go into the Norway clash with Hendry promising the best is yet to come for a team ready to come of age by reaching the second round for the first time.

He said: "There is a maturity in the Scotland team now, we do play football and it will get better.

"I sincerely hope it will get better immediately because if we continue to get better we will certainly out-play a lot of teams given the chance.

"We nearly achieved something against Brazil when a lot of people thought we might not have that opportunity.

"It is now a matter of considering Norway's strengths and weaknesses, we know they have come on rapidly in the last few years.

"But you always believe in what you have yourself and in Kevin Gallacher and Gordon Durie Brazil were given countless problems."

He added: "We have to take something from the game and we must not be beaten. Norway are the same because if they draw they may need to beat Brazil.

"Norway might be in form but it's up to them to score against us, the initiative is on them to score the goals.

"To my mind the Brazilians didn't really miss that many chances in Paris, we were proud of how we stopped them and we can do the same again and more today." Meanwhile Norway's Ole Gunnar Solskjaer lit the flames for tonight's make-or-break clash by accusing Hendry of being a "crude" player.

Manchester United star Solskjaer was under no illusions as to what kind of treatment to expect from the Rovers defender after their scraps in the Premiership.

Solskjaer, recovered from the ankle injury suffered in the opening 2-2 draw with Morocco, admitted: "I've got a few pictures back home where Colin Hendry tries to strangle me!

"But that's the name of the game. Sometimes you have to be crude and it did not shock me. Let's say that in Norway we also don't play football with our hands in our pockets. We can look after ourselves if we have to."

Scotland coach Craig Brown was set to name an unchanged side as the Scots chase the win which would put them on course for a piece of history.

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