Scotland star Ryan Gauld has been labelled as 'world class' after netting a hat trick for Vancouver Whitecaps.

Gauld was finally introduced to the Scotland set-up under Steve Clarke for the latest UEFA Nations League campaign and has come on as a substitute in all four appearances in the competition so far.

He scored three goals as Vancouver hammered Portland Timbers in a 5-0 rout in the MLS play-offs on Thursday, and former Everton, Sunderland and Republic of Ireland star Kevin Kilbane - who is now a pundit on Canadian TV - was blown away by Gauld's performance.

He said: "The way he started the game you could clearly see that Ryan Gauld was seriously in the mood to do something special.

"I don't think any of us envisaged just how special his performance would be.


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"One of the goals he scored was outstanding. It was world class. He had a real desire and intent and you can see he is the real leader in the team.

"It was a complete performance and I don't think I have ever seen him play better and he's had a lot of really good games for the Whitecaps.

"A total performance and Ryan Gauld was simply outstanding."