NafisaIn the final stretch of international preparation cycles, tension often builds not only on the pitch but also off it, where fixture planning, recovery management, and squad protection decisions can quickly become points of disagreement between national setups.
With the margins so fine at elite level tournaments, even the smallest adjustment in schedule or workload can spark frustration, particularly when two nations are operating under different expectations and preparation strategies heading into major competition.
That background has now set the stage for a public disagreement between Scotland and Norway, with emotions spilling over after a proposed behind-closed-doors fixture failed to materialise.
Scotland have reacted strongly after being branded “disrespectful” by Norway manager Stale Solbakken following the pre-opening World Cup warm-up game-that-never-was.
A closed-doors match in Charlotte between Scotland and Norway, who are based in nearby Greensboro, had been mooted but was called off on Saturday by the Scots due to fear they could accrue more injuries.
Manager Steve Clarke’s plans have already taken a hit after Billy Gilmour was ruled out of the tournament following a knee injury sustained against Curacao at Hampden just over a week ago.
Scotland survived unscathed while securing a 4-0 win over Bolivia on Saturday night and Clarke is clearly of a mind to quit while he’s ahead, much to the Norway camp’s frustration. They are due to play Iraq in their opening World Cup group match next Tuesday while Scotland take on Haiti this weekend.
“It was unprofessional that the coach has not called me, that they use the team manager and call and say it after we finished training,” said Solbakken. The “team manager” in question is Michael Hughes, the football operations manager at the SFA. He had arranged the match with his opposite number at the Norwegian Football Federation, Are Hokstad. But a change of heart led to the cancellation fewer than 48 hours before the game was due to take place.
“The behind-closed-doors training game was organised and arranged between the respective team managers – not the head coaches – and this was the same process we followed when we regrettably had to cancel on Saturday,” explained an SFA spokesperson.
“We have had some injuries during our previous friendlies and when it became apparent that a training game would bring greater risk than potential preparatory reward, we alerted the Norway team manager as soon as possible.
“We believe this was the right and consistent process. The game was also due to be behind closed doors and not announced publicly – so we were surprised when news of the game broke via Norwegian media.”
Speaking to Norwegian media, Solbakken had expressed his dismay and disgust at the bounce match being scrapped.
“It was at least as surprising to me, and it is unprofessional of Scotland,” Solbakken said. “It is unprofessional that the coach has not called me, that they use the team manager and call and say it after we have finished training.
“I don’t think the injuries they’re blaming came from the last training session. That’s not the case. It’s disappointing. It’s unprofessional. But we have to live with that. That’s why we adjusted a bit in the game.”
Scotland midfielder John McGinn shrugged off Norwegian complaints over the cancelled fixture and admitted that not everyone in the camp is aware of the furore.
“I would say 75 percent of the squad haven’t seen it,” he said. “But I did see it. Our job is to look after Scotland. Norway’s job is to look after Norway.
“And if they’ve done their research, we lost a very important part of our squad very, very close to this camp. That had a huge impact on everyone.
“We didn’t want to lose another player. We’ve had a few niggles and not everyone has been training.
“So I think it’s a professional way of handling things, to be perfectly honest, to look after number one. And I’m sure every single country will be doing exactly the same thing.
“Like I say, Norway will be angry because they will have had their own plans set up for that game. But if Norway lost Erling Haaland or Martin Odegaard in one of the games leading up to Saturday then they would have cancelled the game as well.”
Nafisa
