Scotland cancel Norway training match seven days before World Cup opener against Haiti

Scotland have pulled out of a planned behind-closed-doors training match against Norway just seven days before their 2026 World Cup Group C opener against Haiti in Foxborough, with injury concerns inside the camp forcing the cancellation.

The match, an unofficial fixture scheduled for Monday at Scotland’s Charlotte training base, had been an open secret within both camps. Norwegian FA media manager Morten Morisbak Skjonsberg confirmed the news, saying: “It is a poorly kept secret that we were supposed to play a training match against Scotland on Monday. Today we learned that Scotland unfortunately had to withdraw from the agreement due to injuries. Instead, we will train at Greensboro.”

Norway head coach Stale Solbakken acknowledged the cancellation would affect his own selection plans. “The cancellation means I will make more changes in our game against Morocco,” he said. “The idea of playing Scotland was that we could get some minutes in the legs of the guys who don’t play in the Morocco game.”

Scotland’s preparations had otherwise gone smoothly. Clarke’s side thumped Bolivia 4-0 on Saturday evening, with the manager striking a confident tone afterwards despite the disruption to his schedule.

“We are as well prepared as we can be at this stage,” Clarke said. “Obviously, you don’t always get everything you want in terms of preparation. We went to Florida for heat and humidity and we got the humidity but a lot of rain. We probably didn’t get the heat we expected but we got that heat in the first half today and I thought we handled it well.”

Clarke also highlighted the positive selection headaches emerging from the Bolivia win. “We’ve got fantastic problems,” he said. “Really good first half, then I turned round to my bench and the changes we were making were good. As much as we have done up until now, we have prepared as well as we can and we will prepare well this week and make sure we start the tournament well.”

With the Norway fixture now off the table, Scotland’s preparations are effectively complete. After facing Haiti, Clarke’s side will take on Morocco and Brazil in Group C as they bid to reach the knockout rounds for the first time in their history.