Scotland’s long-awaited return to the World Cup, after a 28-year hiatus, has been marred by a heated exchange with Norway. Following the cancellation of a scheduled training match in Charlotte, Norway’s team labeled Scotland as “unprofessional,” “embarrassing,” and “weak.” The Scottish Football Association expressed its astonishment at Norway’s reaction, prompting midfielder John McGinn to suggest they familiarize themselves with Scotland’s injury challenges.
With both teams currently in North Carolina, the match was intended to provide valuable playing time for those needing it. Scotland decided to call off the fixture on Saturday, primarily due to the injury that sidelined Billy Gilmour during a recent friendly against Curaçao, which ultimately ruled him out of the World Cup.
Norway’s head coach, Ståle Solbakken, was left outraged by the decision. “I found it surprising, and it reflects a lack of professionalism from Scotland,” he stated. “It’s unprofessional that the coach did not contact me directly; instead, they used the team manager to inform us after our training had concluded.
“I doubt the injuries they mention stemmed from the last training session. That’s simply not true. It’s disappointing and unprofessional. But we must accept it and move forward.”
The Scottish FA clarified that the arrangements for the match were made between team administrators, rather than being discussed by Clarke and Solbakken directly.
Norway’s team manager, Brede Hangeland, echoed Solbakken’s sentiments, expressing his frustration. “We worked hard for many months to organize this match. Cancelling it just days before is embarrassing. There’s nothing we can do now, but it’s disappointing considering all the arrangements and agreements made, only to have them disregarded. I find that weak, to put it mildly.”
As the situation escalated, a group of Norwegian journalists unexpectedly attended McGinn’s press conference on Monday. In response to their inquiries, McGinn supported the decision to cancel the match. “I would say around 75% of the squad didn’t see the Norwegian remarks; I did,” he remarked.
“Our priority is to take care of Scotland. Norway’s responsibility is to focus on their own team. If they had done their homework, they would know we lost a crucial player very close to the camp, which affected everyone. We didn’t want to risk losing another player. We have had a few minor injuries, and not everyone has been training consistently. I think it’s a professional decision to prioritize our own team’s well-being. I’m confident every country would do the same.”
“Norway might be upset because they had their own plans for the game. However, if they had lost a key player like Erling Haaland or Martin Ødegaard leading up to the tournament, they would likely cancel too.”
Clarke shared a similar perspective, though his comments were made prior to Norway’s backlash. “It was merely going to be a training session for an hour at our training facility,” Clarke explained. “We encountered a few minor injuries last week and determined that it wasn’t worth the risk.” The Scottish FA released a statement criticizing Norway for making the situation public. It read: “The training match was organized between the respective team managers, not the head coaches, which is the same process we followed when we regrettably had to cancel on Saturday.
“We have dealt with several injuries in our previous friendlies, and when it became evident that a training match posed a greater risk than potential benefit, we informed the Norwegian team manager as soon as we could. We believe this was the appropriate and consistent approach.
“Additionally, the game was intended to be closed to the public and not announced, so we were surprised when it was reported by Norwegian media.”
Alongside Gilmour’s absence, Scotland’s Scott McKenna and Nathan Patterson have had their training minutes managed due to minor injuries. Ross Stewart had a slight knee issue before the tournament but came on as a substitute during Scotland’s 4-0 victory over Bolivia on Saturday. Meanwhile, Norway played to a 1-1 draw against Morocco a day later.
