Our sons are playing for two different countries at the World Cup

For most Scots following the World Cup, who they're supporting isn't even a question.

And football-mad Jack and Heather Souttar of Luthermuir in Aberdeenshire have more reason than most fans to be heading to the USA this week.

Their son John is making his World Cup debut in the blue jersey of Scotland.

But that's where things get complicated.

Because their younger son, Harry, is turning out in the gold of Australia.

They're proud of both boys and looking forward to watching them play.

But their sons' success means Jack and Heather need to get to two first-round games which are 3000 miles and six days apart.

And they're keeping their fingers crossed and options open should both teams progress.

As Jack says: "It's a big thing, I suppose. We want to support both kids and both countries. Then the ball's in the air for the rest of it."

Both defenders, John now plays at Rangers after stints with Dundee United and Hearts, while Harry - who also started at Tannadice - had a spell at Stoke before joining Leicester City.

John first played for Scotland in 2018 and Harry has been a feature of the Australian national squad since 2019, thanks to mum Heather being born there.

According to their parents, having two sons playing at the highest level means they can enjoy both their successes, and the boys enjoy a friendly and supportive rivalry.

Jack says: "They're fairly close brothers, though there was a bit of scrapping when they were younger.

"They're always talking to each other about games. They're always looking out for each other, that's for certain."

The beautiful game has played a big part in the lives of all the Souttars.

Jack turned out for Brechin in his youth and the next generation of three sons and two daughters all played and follow the game.

Managing all that took a lot of commitment and organisation over the years.

"I think the big thing is that it was never a task for us," Jack says.

"We trained at Dundee twice a week. Then we were going down to Glasgow twice a week and training down there."

The boys' burgeoning careers took them all over the UK, including Dingwall, Fleetwood and Stoke.

"We were all over the country supporting them and, to be fair, we both really enjoy football. It was excellent. We didn't want to be grumpy parents. We treated it as a holiday."

This World Cup is not the family's first.

In 1998, the last time Scotland made it to the finals, Jack was there with oldest son Aaron, among a gang of family and friends.

But toddler John was too young to make the trip and stayed at home with Heather, who was heavily pregnant with Harry.

"I never made it," Heather says. "I was very pleased that they went and I said 'well, I'll go to the next one'.