World Cup: What can Scotland learn from quarter-finalists Norway?

Just 11 days before Haaland took his tournament tally to seven goals, Steve Clarke’s side were left bruised by the Brazilians as they failed to achieve their goal of reaching the knockout stages for the first time.

Since then, fingers have been pointed at the players, the Scottish FA and the head coach, who resigned in the aftermath.

Former England striker Ian Wright said “somebody is letting down Scotland on a massive scale” and called for a “bolder, braver vision” as he drew comparisons with Norway’s impressive domestic broadcast deal and their stars’ ability to shine on centre stage.

The two nations have almost identical populations, so how have the Scandinavians aced their plan of attack?

Well, for starters, they realised when they were in a rut and acted on it.

After a decade or so of failing to qualify for major tournaments – since Euro 2000 – the authorities hit the reset button.

A whack of investment into coaching courses, artificial pitches and a National Team School (NTS), in addition to a shift in domestic strategies.

From 2016 to 2025 alone, 539 new artificial surfaces were built and another 586 renovated, with the landscape flipping from a lack of interest and enthusiasm to swarms of people squashed together in Times Square taking part in a ‘Viking row’ together.