“I don’t think the injuries they’re blaming came from the last training session. That’s not the case. It’s disappointing. It’s unprofessional.

“But we have to live with that. That’s why we adjusted a bit in the game.”

Norway kick-off their Group I campaign against Iraq next Tuesday, three days after Scotland face Haiti in Group C.

The Scots played their final public preparation game on Saturday, when they defeated Bolivia 4-0, with Clarke utilising most of his squad.

However, Norway’s team manager, former Fulham defender Brede Hangeland, said they had based their World Cup preparations on the closed-doors friendly “for many months” before arriving at their base in Greensboro, about 90 miles from Scotland’s training camp in Charlotte.

“It is embarrassing to cancel it a couple of days before,” he added. “We can’t do anything about it.

“We just have to forget about it and make the best of it. But there has been a lot of organisation, agreements and gentlemen’s agreements and then suddenly they don’t want to.

“I think that was weak, so to speak.”