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BREAKING PRE-SEASON SHAKE-UP: Why Manchester United Are Heading North for a Rare Tour Not Seen in 30 Years as World Cup Chaos Forces Radical Rethink

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MANCHESTER UNITED are preparing to embark on their first pre-season tour of Scandinavia in almost 30 years.

United have lined up friendlies in Helsinki and Gothenburg for what could be their first games under a new head coach.

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Man Utd are set to embark on an unconventional tour of ScandinaviaCredit: Getty
 

56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos
The World Cup have forced United to pursue an unusual route for pre-seasonCredit: Reuters
Discussions are ongoing but United are in the process of finalising plans for what sources have described as an unconventional tour amid the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

United last played in the Finnish capital of Helsinki against Hjk Helsinki in the European Cup in 1965.

Gothenburg knocked United out of the Champions League in 1994 and United returned to the Swedish city to take on Barcelona in a 2012 friendly and Galatasaray four years later.

The World Cup final on July 19 is the latest since 1966 and that has had a bearing on United’s pre-season plans.

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United have toured the United States for their past three pre-seasons but cannot justify a fourth successive jaunt with the nation co-hosting the World Cup.

That has led to United turning to Scandinavia, one of their biggest support bases outside of the UK and Ireland.

United have played in Norway three times and in Sweden once in their last four pre-season programmes to cater for their large fanbases in those countries.

The Reds used to regularly tour Scandinavia but have not played multiple games there in a single pre-season since 2012, when they took on Valerenga in Norway and Barcelona in Sweden.

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One of the issues has been the small stadia in Scandinavia, which limits ticket sales.

Overall, United have played in Norway five times and Sweden twice since 2016.

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Four of the games were staged at the Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo and one at the Lerkendal Stadium in Trondheim.

They began their pre-season schedule last year with a goalless draw with Leeds United in Stockholm, having played Galatasaray in Gothenburg in 2016.

United last organised a definitive tour of Scandinavia in 1998 – another World Cup year – at the start of their treble-winning season.

Alex Ferguson’s played Valerenga, Brondby and Brann after the World Cup had ended in France.

Manchester United Training Session In Gothenburg
United last played multiple pre-season games in Scandinavia in 2012Credit: Getty – Contributor
 

Illustration of Manchester United's starting lineup against Barcelona in a 2012 friendly, showing players Rooney, Welbeck, Young, Nani, Anderson, Scholes, Evra, Valencia, Ferdinand, Vidic, and De Gea in their positions on a red pitch.
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