Scotland given early World Cup scare as Scott McTominay misses training before Haiti clash | OneFootball

Scotland’s World Cup preparations faced a minor disruption on Thursday as key midfielder Scott McTominay missed training due to a stomach complaint.

The 29-year-old Napoli player was conspicuously absent from the Atrium Heath Training Centre in Charlotte, North Carolina, as Steve Clarke’s squad continued their build-up for Sunday’s opener against Haiti.

Defender Scott McKenna, also 29, was another absentee, nursing a knock.

Despite their absence, both players are expected to be fit for the Group C curtain-raiser in Boston, which kicks off in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The Scots will be aiming for a strong start to the competition, with formidable opponents Morocco, who reached the semi-finals in Qatar four years ago, and five-time winners Brazil awaiting them in the group stage.

Scott McKenna also missed training on Thursday (Getty)

Scotland are competing in their first World Cup since 1998, when they also faced Brazil and Morocco in the tournament that was hosted by France.

Scotland lost to Brazil 2-1 in their opening match 28 years ago, and were comfortably beaten 3-0 by Morocco as they crashed out in the group stage after only taking a point from their three games following a 1-1 draw with Norway.

They will hope for a better tournament this time around, but are likely to need McTominay fit and firing if they are to progress into the knockout rounds.

McTominay has been a star performer for Napoli in Serie A over the last two seasons since leaving Manchester United.

He scored 12 league goals in the 2024-25 season as Napoli stormed to the Serie A title under Antonio Conte.

Napoli finished 11 points adrift of champions Inter Milan last season, but it was still a positive campaign for McTominay as he netted 10 Serie A goals.

This was enough to earn Napoli a second-placed finish and a spot in next season’s Champions League.