Cancelled friendly sparks row between Scotland, Norway coaches

L-R: Scotland coach Steve Clarke and Norway coach Stale Solbakken

A planned behind-closed-doors friendly between Scotland and Norway has sparked a war of words between the two nations’ coaches after the Scots withdrew from the match citing injury concerns.

The training-ground fixture, scheduled for Monday in North Carolina as both teams continue preparations for the start of their World Cup campaigns, was called off by Scotland after several players reportedly picked up minor injuries.

Scotland manager Steve Clarke said the decision was taken to avoid aggravating fitness concerns within his squad.

As reported by BBC Sport on Monday, Clarke was quoted as saying, “It was just going to be a training game for an hour at our training ground. We picked up one or two niggles last week and decided it wasn’t worth the risk.”