Scotland Prepares for World Cup Opener Against Haiti
Steve Clarke had already heard the warning siren long before Haiti thrashed New Zealand 4-0. Everyone else is only just tuning in.
Scotland are in New Jersey for their final warm‑up match against Bolivia on Saturday, the last stop before the World Cup opener against Haiti in Foxborough the following weekend. On paper, this is the game that should offer Scotland their clearest route to three points in a group that also contains AFCON champions Morocco and the heavyweight presence of Brazil.
On paper. Clarke has no time for paper.
Clarke wary of “overlooked” Haiti
Haiti sit 81st in the FIFA rankings and are coached by Frenchman Sebastien Migne. For plenty of observers, that made them the obvious outsiders. Then came Fort Lauderdale and a ruthless demolition of New Zealand at Chase Stadium that has forced a rethink.
Not for the Scotland manager.
Speaking at Sports Illustrated Stadium, Clarke’s respect for the Caribbean side was unmistakable. He had already studied them, already filed them under “dangerous”.
“They were really good the other night,” he said, before turning his attention to a familiar British blind spot.
“We’ve got a terrible habit, not just in Scotland, but in the UK in general, of looking at these nations and thinking they’re not very good, or (looking at) whatever their ranking in the world.
“But they play in a different section of the world, so maybe in their section, they’re really good.”
The New Zealand game only confirmed his view. Haiti didn’t just edge it; they dominated.
“And if you watched them play the other night against New Zealand, they were much better than New Zealand.
“Big, strong physical, but not only big, strong physical… also technical.
“They have good players who play in good leagues.
“I was never under any illusion, it was going be a tough game, and it’s probably nice that some people get to see how they played the other night, because it’s going be a difficult game for us.”
For a nation returning to the World Cup for the first time since 1998, with the weight of history and expectation on their backs, this is not the soft landing some had imagined.
No cotton wool, even after Gilmour blow
The build‑up has already carried a jolt. Billy Gilmour’s World Cup ended before it began, a knee injury in the 4-1 win over Curacao ruling him out of the tournament. It is a brutal setback for a player central to Scotland’s rhythm and for a squad that can ill afford to lose quality.
Clarke, though, refuses to let that alter the way Scotland prepare. No half measures. No gentle jog into the tournament.
The former Reading, West Brom and Kilmarnock manager revealed a few players are carrying niggles but stressed there is nothing serious. Training and game time will not be dialled down.
“You want me to wrap them in cotton wool and not train? You need to work,” he said.
“Injuries are part and parcel of football. When it happens, especially when it happens in the circumstances that happen to Billy, it’s really disappointing.
“Everybody’s got to take a deep breath and move forward again.
“Selection is straightforward. We have to do what we have to do to prepare for the Haiti game.
“So players need minutes. I need to see one or two players’ position on the pitch.
“And then we’ve got a week to prepare for the first game, so it’s all about preparation.
“There’s no trying to protect players or whatever.”
So Bolivia becomes more than a friendly. It is a live rehearsal, a final check on combinations, fitness and mentality before Scotland walk back into a World Cup they have waited 26 years to see again.
Haiti await in Foxborough, no longer a mystery, no longer underestimated. The question now is not whether Scotland know what is coming. It is whether they are truly ready for it.
