Scotland's preparations for the World Cup encountered a minor setback on Thursday as influential midfielder Scott McTominay did not participate in training, suffering from a stomach complaint. The 29-year-old Napoli player was noticeably absent from the Atrium Heath Training Centre in Charlotte, North Carolina, where Steve Clarke's squad is fine-tuning its strategy for Sunday's initial group stage fixture against Haiti.
Adding to the concerns, fellow 29-year-old defender Scott McKenna also missed the session, nursing a knock. Despite these absences, the Scottish camp remains optimistic, with both players anticipated to be fit and available for the Group C curtain-raiser. The crucial match is scheduled to kick off in the early hours of Sunday morning in Boston, a fixture where Scotland will be aiming to secure a strong start to their tournament campaign.
The significance of McTominay's fitness cannot be overstated, particularly as Scotland faces formidable opponents later in the group stage. Their path includes Morocco, who impressively reached the semi-finals in Qatar four years ago, and the footballing giants Brazil, five-time winners of the competition. A positive result against Haiti is paramount to build momentum before these challenging encounters.
This World Cup marks Scotland's first appearance in the global showpiece since 1998, a tournament hosted by France where they also found themselves in a group alongside Brazil and Morocco. That campaign saw Scotland lose 2-1 to Brazil in their opening match and suffer a comfortable 3-0 defeat to Morocco, ultimately exiting the competition in the group stage after securing only a single point from a 1-1 draw with Norway.
The squad will be hoping for a significantly improved performance this time around, with McTominay's contributions likely to be central to any aspirations of progressing into the knockout rounds. His form for Napoli in Serie A over the past two seasons, since his move from Manchester United, has been exceptional. He was a pivotal figure in Napoli's Serie A title win under Antonio Conte, scoring 12 league goals in the 2024-25 season. Even in the subsequent season, despite Napoli finishing 11 points behind champions Inter Milan, McTominay still netted 10 Serie A goals, contributing to their second-place finish and a spot in the Champions League.