The American Dream comes true at Celtic as Trusty and Carter-Vickers stand side by side for long awaited first

Auston Trusty got a kick out of being part of Team America at the heart of Celtic’s defence against Dundee the other night.

But the Hoops centre back knows the return of Cameron Carter-Vickers means there scrap for places in the side is now as tight as the bonkers race for the White House in his homeland. USA aces Trusty and CCV go way back to their times in the American youth set up, having both been part of Tab Ramos’ under-20 World Cup squad in 2017.

But – surprisingly – the pair had never started the same senior match until Wednesday’s 2-0 win over the Dens Park men. The duo went together as comfortably as stars and stripes but the return to fitness of his big international pal has given boss Brendan Rodgers a dilemma ahead of Hampden, with Liam Scales also in superb form. Trusty said: “It was good playing with Cam. I’ve know him for quite a bit now so it was nice playing alongside him. Overall it was really good.”

It looked a solid partnership but Trusty and Scales was also sensational in the Champions League draw with Atalanta in Italy last week. In fact, take away the Borussia Dortmund game in Europe, and Celtic’s defence has been rock solid no matter who has played.

The Hoops racked up another shut out against Dundee – and they’ve now collected eight clean sheets in 10 league games. And it’s been pretty tasty at the other end too, with Rodgers’ men averaging almost three goals a game on the home front.

The Celts gaffer rotated his squad for the Dundee win with an eye on tomorrow’s Premier Sports Cup semi-final clash with high-flying Aberdeen. And it’s clear there is an almighty scrap for places at Hampden.

Trusty reckons the more the merrier – as the intense fight for the starting line-up is a show of