Norway head coach criticises Scotland after cancelling behind-closed-doors friendly

[p]The ‌fixture, scheduled for Monday at [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/scotland/fZRU25WH/"]Scotland[/a]’s training camp in Charlotte, ‌North Carolina, was arranged months in advance ‌to give fringe players match practice ahead of the ‌World Cup.[/p][p]However, the Norwegian camp was notified of ‌the cancellation late on Friday night following their final training session, forcing [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/solbakken-stale/pxok8eTM/"]Solbakken[/a] to alter his tactical approach ‌for Sunday's 1-1 friendly draw against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/morocco/IDKYO3R8/"]⁠Morocco[/a] in New Jersey.[/p][p][b]"It ‌was just as surprising to me, and it is ​unprofessional of Scotland,"[/b] Solbakken told Norwegian broadcaster NRK.[/p][p]"It's unprofessional that their manager didn't call ​me personally, that they used their team manager to call and tell us this after we completed ⁠training. I don't ​believe the injuries they are blaming this on happened during their last session."[/p][embed guid="e0056e10-5918-4459-b5ce-fc8f71237e7e" url="https://x.com/TheAthleticFC/status/2064013127868367052" social-type="twitter" /][p]Scotland head coach Steve Clarke played down the disruption on Sunday evening, telling ‌the BBC that the match was only meant to be a one-hour training ground exercise.[/p][p]Clarke added that his squad had picked up some minor injuries during the week and decided against fulfilling the fixture, just a little more than a day after Scotland cruised to a 4-0 friendly victory over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bolivia/nXdi7mbc/"]Bolivia[/a].[/p][p][b]"We picked up one or two niggles ‌last week and decided it wasn't worth the ​risk,"[/b] he said.[/p][p]The sudden cancellation has drawn sharp ‌rebukes from senior Norwegian figures and players, including striker [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sorloth-alexander/QwqgNkTP/"]Alexander Sorloth[/a], who called the decision "a great shame and quite unprofessional."[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/norway/8rP6JO0H/"]Norway[/a] will open their World Cup campaign against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/iraq/K8aAGt6r/"]Iraq[/a] on [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/iraq-K8aAGt6r/norway-8rP6JO0H/?mid=n9TEVLhA"]June ⁠16[/a], while Scotland start ⁠against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/haiti/nk4v10Z1/"]Haiti[/a] on [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/haiti-nk4v10Z1/scotland-fZRU25WH/?mid=QBBoaW63"]‌June 14[/a].[/p]