{"id":1698,"date":"2026-06-10T01:17:50","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T22:17:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/norways-solbakken-hits-out-at-steve-clarke-after-friendly-is-scrapped\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T01:17:50","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T22:17:50","slug":"norways-solbakken-hits-out-at-steve-clarke-after-friendly-is-scrapped","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/norways-solbakken-hits-out-at-steve-clarke-after-friendly-is-scrapped\/","title":{"rendered":"Norway\u2019s Solbakken hits out at Steve Clarke after friendly is scrapped"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Scotland manager Steve Clarke has come under fire from Norway counterpart Stale Solbakken after the Scotland head coach cancelled a planned training-ground friendly as both teams gear up for the start of their World Cup campaigns. The dispute erupted after the match was called off last minute, with Norway claiming the decision was handled in an \u201cunprofessional\u201d manner.<\/p>\n<p>Both squads were staying in North Carolina, and the fixture was originally set for Monday. However, the Norwegian Football Federation announced on Sunday that it had been cancelled due to injuries reported in the Scotland camp.<\/p>\n<h3>Clarke: \u201cNot worth the risk\u201d<\/h3>\n<p>Clarke later explained his decision to BBC Scotland. He said the plan had been a simple one-hour training game at Scotland\u2019s facility, but that minor knocks picked up during the previous week led to the call to stand down.<\/p>\n<p>He added that the aim was to avoid unnecessary risk, insisting that the issues were not severe but made the friendly feel like an unwarranted gamble at that stage of preparation.<\/p>\n<p>The cancellation drew a sharper reaction after Norway\u2019s own public warm-up match on Sunday. Norway drew 1-1 with Scotland\u2019s Group C rivals Morocco, and Solbakken described the Scotland decision as \u201csurprising\u201d in comments carried by Norwegian broadcaster NRK.<\/p>\n<p>Solbakken said: \u201cIt is unprofessional of Scotland.\u201d He criticised how the news was communicated, claiming the Scotland coach did not contact him directly and that the change was instead relayed via the team manager after Norway had completed training.<\/p>\n<p>He also challenged Scotland\u2019s explanation around injuries, saying he did not believe the concerns cited had come from the most recent session. \u201cIt\u2019s disappointing. It\u2019s unprofessional,\u201d Solbakken added.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the criticism, Solbakken said Norway would move on, noting they adjusted their approach for the match they eventually played.<\/p>\n<p>Scotland\u2019s governing body quickly responded, stating the game was arranged \u201cbetween the respective team managers \u2013 not the head coaches\u201d. It also pointed to the fact that the same framework had been used during an earlier cancellation.<\/p>\n<p>The Scottish FA added that, after injuries emerged in previous friendlies, they warned the Norway team manager as soon as it became clear that a training match would carry more danger than potential benefit. It further stressed the fixture was supposed to be held behind closed doors and not publicly advertised, leaving them surprised when details surfaced through Norwegian media.<\/p>\n<h3>At a glance<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Scotland coach Steve Clarke cancelled a planned Monday training-ground friendly.<\/li>\n<li>Norway manager Stale Solbakken branded the decision \u201cunprofessional\u201d.<\/li>\n<li>Norway said the cancellation came due to injuries in Scotland\u2019s camp.<\/li>\n<li>Both teams were based in North Carolina.<\/li>\n<li>Norway drew 1-1 with Morocco on Sunday in a public friendly.<\/li>\n<li>Norway play Iraq next Tuesday in Group I.<\/li>\n<li>Scotland face Haiti in Group C three days before that.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>On the competition timeline, Norway begin their Group I schedule against Iraq next Tuesday. Scotland\u2019s first Group C match comes earlier, with Haiti the opposition three days before Norway\u2019s opener.<\/p>\n<p>Scotland\u2019s last public warm-up took place on Saturday, when they beat Bolivia 4-0. Clarke used most of his available squad in that match, with the aim of sharpening preparations ahead of the tournament.<\/p>\n<h3>Hangeland: cancellation \u201cembarrassing\u201d<\/h3>\n<p>Norway\u2019s team manager, former Fulham defender Brede Hangeland, said their World Cup preparations had been built around the behind-closed-doors friendly \u201cfor many months.\u201d He explained that Norway arrived at their base in Greensboro, roughly 90 miles from Scotland\u2019s training camp in Charlotte.<\/p>\n<p>Hangeland said it was \u201cembarrassing\u201d that the fixture was cancelled only a couple of days beforehand, adding that there was little they could do about it. He insisted Norway would have to put the situation aside and make the best of it, while criticising what he described as a breakdown in coordination after a series of arrangements.<\/p>\n<p>He said there had been extensive planning, agreements and \u201cgentlemen\u2019s agreements,\u201d but that the other side then changed course. \u201cI think that was weak, so to speak,\u201d Hangeland concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Scotland manager Steve Clarke has come under fire from Norway counterpart Stale Solbakken after the Scotland head coach cancelled a planned training-ground friendly as both teams gear up for the start of their World Cup campaigns. The dispute erupted after the match was called off last minute, with Norway claiming the decision was handled in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1697,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Steve Clarke Under Fire as Norway Scraps Scotland Friendly","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Steve Clarke faces criticism from Stale Solbakken after Scotland\u2019s friendly with Norway was scrapped last minute, sparking an \u201cunp","mma_seo_breadcrumb_text":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_url":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_hide_ui":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_labels":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Steve Clarke Under Fire as Norway 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Over four years, she helped evolve the platform from a simple blog into one of South Africa\u2019s leading independent entertainment news sites. Following ZAlebs\u2019 transition to Celebrity Worx in 2016, Zibuyile was promoted to Executive Editor, recognized for her sharp audience insight and ability to match editorial with branded content. Highlights of her time include a Bookmark Award nomination, judging TLC\u2019s Next Great Presenter, reporting from the MTV EMAs, and building partnerships with radio stations like YFM, Cliff Central, and Good Hope FM. Her editorial work also expanded to include fast-growing digital verticals\u2014such as lifestyle tech, online entertainment, and gambling-related content\u2014tailored to evolving reader interests and brand opportunities.","sameAs":["https:\/\/za.linkedin.com\/in\/zibuyile-dladla-9a26628a"],"url":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/author\/zibuyile-dladla\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1698"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1698\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}