Scott McTominay is fit to face Haiti in Scotland's 2026 World Cup opener on Saturday -- but central defender Scott McKenna will miss out through injury.
McTominay was nursing a stomach bug and travelled from the team's base in Charlotte to Boston separate from the squad as a precautionary measure, but head coach Steve Clarke has confirmed the Napoli midfielder is "perfect" and "ready to go."
But in a setback, McKenna will be absent. "Scott will miss out," Clarke said. "He's had an issue with his calf, he's almost there and will probably train Monday."
This World Cup has been 28 years in the waiting for Scotland, with their last foray back in 1998. Thousands of Scotland fans have made the trip over the Atlantic for their opener with Haiti, which takes place in Foxborough, 25 miles outside of Boston.
Scotland will also have half an eye on how their fellow Group C opponents Morocco and Brazil fare on Saturday afternoon, but Clarke is not underestimating the threat Haiti pose.
"It's important we respect the opposition, make sure we're properly prepared, we play to the best of our ability and see what the result is," Clarke said. "We've watched Haiti very closely, we respect their abilities on the pitch. Since they've qualified, they've improved the squad.
"We think we know how they'll play. We think we know their system. They have very dynamic players, especially the attacking players so we have to be careful."
Clarke said he didn't enjoy Scotland's previous two major tournament appearances under him -- with Scotland failing to get out of their group at both the delayed Euro 2020 and Euro 2024. In both instances, Scotland lost their opening match -- 2-0 to Czechia in 2021, and 5-1 to Germany in 2024.
When asked what lessons he's learnt from those matches, Clarke answered: "The Germany game is easy: don't get humped. Czech is different -- we lost 2-0, but there was a time where we were on top of that game. The Germany game wasn't anywhere near the level we could get."
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Clarke said "team selection is difficult" and will have to leave "three or four players out" who've given a lot in getting the team to the tournament. He highlighted the need for this to be a whole squad effort if Scotand are to reach the knockout stages for the first time in the men's team's history, but Clarke's team are not underestimating the challenge awaiting them on Saturday.
"We know it's going to be a difficult game, it's the first time in 28 years since we've been there. Haiti will be 100% committed. We have to deal with their problems and bring our best game to the pitch too," the 62-year-old said.
Clarke added: "The players have spoken about [having no regrets] themselves and it's credit to the players they've qualified to these major tournaments. But we want to do something special."
