Scotland’s Steve Clarke Criticized by Norway’s Stale Solbakken Over Canceled Friendly

Scotland’s manager, Steve Clarke, has faced criticism from his Norwegian counterpart, Stale Solbakken, who labeled him “unprofessional” following the cancellation of a pre-World Cup friendly match.

On Saturday evening, the Tartan Army wrapped up their public friendly schedule with a resounding 4-0 victory over Bolivia.

However, plans for a closed-door match between Scotland and Norway were scrapped as part of the final preparations for the upcoming tournament starting Thursday.

Clarke cited injury concerns within the Scotland squad as the reason for canceling the match, which was intended to be an hour-long fixture at their training ground. He explained to BBC Scotland that proceeding with the game was not “worth the risk.”.

In response, Solbakken expressed his disappointment during an interview with Norwegian broadcaster NRK. He suggested that he had made tactical adjustments in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Morocco in anticipation of facing Scotland.

Solbakken’s Strong Critique of Clarke

Solbakken remarked, “It is unprofessional of Scotland. It is unprofessional that the coach has not called me; they used the team manager to relay this information after we finished training.”.

He further contested Clarke’s claims regarding injuries, stating, “I don’t believe the injuries they’re citing stemmed from our last training session. That’s simply not accurate. It’s disappointing and unprofessional.”.

Brede Hangeland, Norway’s team manager and former Fulham defender, echoed Solbakken’s sentiments, labeling the cancellation as “embarrassing.” He stated, “It’s disappointing to have it called off just a couple of days prior. There’s nothing we can do about it now. We must move on and make the best of the situation. There was significant organization and agreements in place that suddenly fell through.”.

Upcoming World Cup Matches for Scotland and Norway

Scotland is set to play their first World Cup match against Haiti in the early hours of June 14 (BST). In contrast, Norway will face Iraq on June 16, giving them nearly three days after Scotland’s opener before their own tournament begins.