Norway no one-man team, warns Scotland boss Clarke

Scotland completed their training in Glasgow before flying out to Olso on Friday evening

Scotland manager Steve Clarke is stressing the need to focus on "Norway the team" rather than fixating on how to stop Erling Haaland.

Asked about plans to combat Haaland, Clarke said: "As we always do, we concentrate on ourselves. We prepare properly for the game, we respect our opponents. We play Norway the team, and hopefully Scotland the team are a little bit better on the night."

Scotland sit top of Group A following home wins over Cyprus and top seeds Spain.

Norway are five points behind after a loss in Spain and a draw away to Georgia.

• Do or die for Haaland's Norway against Scotland
• Scotland 'learned from mistakes' last summer
• How 'big huddy' Haaland has history with Scotland

Haaland was absent for the opening double-header but is fit to face Scotland after scoring 52 goals on his way to a Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League treble with Manchester City.

"The Norwegian people have seen him on telly for a long time without seeing him live," said home manager Stale Solbakken. "I think he has had one game here in a year.

"So that will probably pump him up and give him the five to 10 per cent he probably lacks due to the programme he has been through and all the feelings and emotions he has been through as well."

Scotland defender Liam Cooper added that Haaland had enjoyed "an unbelievable season" before saying: "But I don't like to disrespect the Norway team, they have a lot of good players and to put all our focus on one player, I think that would be wrong of us.

"Obviously (Martin) Odegaard is a very good player, he has also been in a title challenge this year [with Arsenal]. They have got amazing players. We have to keep Erling and Odegaard in check, but there's a lot of other players to worry about as well.

"We are going to need a big performance, especially a defensive performance. Hopefully we can get that, the boys are dialled in, and get a positive result."

Scotland will wear black armbands in memory of Gordon McQueen who died this week, with Clarke calling the former international defender "a giant of a man".

Team news

Scotland are without injured striker Che Adams and centre-half Grant Hanley, while uncapped Aberdeen defender Ross McCrorie was called up to replace Anthony Ralston.

Feyenoord right-back Marcus Pedersen is missing for Norway.

What they said

Scotland manager Steve Clarke: "I think we should come with confidence. Obviously we had a good March and we have had a good run of wins in competitive fixtures.

"But we know we are coming to a difficult place. It's a different challenge, it's an away game. Norway are a different team from Spain, they play a different way.

"They put you under a little bit more pressure maybe. Spain will pass the ball and pass the ball and try to win the game with possession. Norway have good ball players, but they can also be quite direct as well."

Norway manager Stale Solbakken: "It's more crucial for us than Scotland of course, but no matter what, before the group started, this would always have been a key game.

"I looks much better for us if we can beat you and everyone is beating each other. If we win, also Spain are in trouble, because it's two teams who can catch them."

What do we know about Norway?

Ranked 44th in the world, eight places below Scotland, Norway have not been to a major finals since Euro 2000.

They finished second in their 2022-23 Nations League B group, adrift of Serbia and above Slovenia and Sweden, and were third behind Netherlands and Turkey in their last World Cup qualifying bid, despite losing just twice in 10 matches.

Haaland has 21 international goals from 23 caps and is already joint eighth on Norway's list of top scorers at the age of 22.

Captain Odegaard is another top talent and the Arsenal midfielder will win his 50th cap against Scotland.

Match stats

• Scotland men won their last meeting with Norway, 1-0 in a 2013 friendly with Scott Brown scoring the winner
• Stuart Armstrong is in the current Scotland squad and was an unused substitute in that 2013 match
• The overall head-to-head between the nations is two wins apiece and three draws
• Saturday will be the first meeting of the nations in a men's European Championship qualifying campaign since 1979, the Scots winning both encounters in that campaign
• Scotland's last competitive victory over Norway was a World Cup qualifier in 2005, which finished 2-1 in Oslo.