Ba a ma da sunan Ben Waine a cikin jerin 'yan wasa na Port Vale watanni kadan da suka wuce. A yau, dan wasan gaba dan New Zealand mai shekara 25 na shirya wakiltar kasarsa a FIFA World Cup 2026 — kuma yana mafarkin wani lokaci na tarihi a babban mataki na kwallon kafa.

"Ya kasance kakar wasa mai wahala. Ba zan yi karya ba," Waine ya shaida wa Sky Sports. "Akwai dogon lokaci da ban kasance cikin jerin 'yan wasan kwata-kwata. Ya yi ciwo a wancan lokaci, amma mai yiwuwa yana daga cikin mafi kyawun abubuwan da suka faru a gareni. Na sami damar yin aiki sosai a kan wasana."

Kwallonzin da ta canza komai

Port Vale ta sauka daga League One, amma Waine ya juya yanayin sa ta hanyar da ta shafi shi kawai, ya kammala kakar wasan da kwallaye takwas. Mafi muhimmancin lokaci ya zo a watan Maris, lokacin da ya ci kwallonzin nasara ta kai dhidi da Sunderland a wasan FA Cup. "Ta sa kakar wasa mai wahala ta fi jurewa," in ji shi.

Wannan kwallo ba ta faru ta hatsari ba. Waine yana aiki kowace rana tare da kocin keɓantacce Simon Ireland don inganta dabarunsa na kammala hare-hare. "A zahiri, kowace rana muna aiki a kan nau'i daya ko biyu na kammala, muna mayar da hankali kan fasaha kawai," ya bayyana. "Batun nemo wannan nutsuwa ne, wannan dabarar da zan iya amfani da ita ba tare da tunani ba har ta zama dabi'a."

Muhimmanci, ya yi zaton wannan kwallo ta Sunderland a baya — kai mai lanƙwasa zuwa nisa daga hannun mai tsaron gida. "Na yi zaton ta da gaske. Ya kasance mai ban sha'awa sosai ganin ta faru." Waine, wanda danginsa suna goyon bayan Newcastle, ya yi bikin da wasan bikin shahararren Alan Shearer a gaban tifosi na Sunderland da suka bi ƙungiyarsu. "Ya kasance mai ban sha'awa sosai. Ban taba ganin filin wasa yana haka ba a baya. Yana tashin hankali sosai."

Hanya mai wahala a kwallon kafa na Ingilishi

Tafiyar zuwa wannan Kofin Duniya ban tayi sauki ba. Waine ya bar Wellington Phoenix ya shiga Plymouth Argyle a watan Janairu 2023, ya isa League One ya fuskanci matsalar jiki da tsari nan take. Haɓakar Plymouth ya sa abubuwa su yi tsanani. "Kana samun wannan ci gaba mai ban mamaki kuma ba zato ba tsammani kana buga kwallon kafa ta Championship. Ya zo da sauri sosai kusan."

Ya ci kwallaye a Championship — ciki har da kwallo a kan Leeds United a Elland Road — amma lamunin sa a Mansfield bai samu wata riba ba. "Hakan bai yi aiki kwata-kwata ba." Ya yi tunani a kan komawa gida amma ya ƙi mika wuya. "Na yi alkawari da kaina cewa ko da ya yi wahala ƙaƙa na ba zan koma ba. Hakan da ya zama hanyar sauƙi. Na tsaya tsayin daka kuma na fita a matsayin ɗan wasa mafi kyau da mutum mafi kyau."

Buri a Kofin Duniya tare da All Whites

New Zealand — All Whites — suna shiga gasar da ake zaton ba su da ƙarfi. Shirye-shiryensu sun haɗa da nasara 4-1 akan Chile, wanda Waine ya ci kwallo, amma sun kuma sha kashi a hannun Colombia, Ecuador, Finland, Haiti, da England. "Dole ne ka gane cewa lokacin da muke ƙara ƙarfi kuma muke buga abokan hamayya mafi wahala, ba za mu iya tsammanin cikakkun sakamako ba. Mun yi daidaitawa a tunani," in ji shi.

New Zealand za ta fuskanci Iran da farko, sa'an nan kuma Egypt da Belgium a Rukuni na A. Waine yana ganin damar gaske a cikin wannan zabe. "Tunanina na farko shi ne muna da dama a nan. Kowa yana ganin mu a matsayin marasa ƙarfi, amma muna son yin amfani da damar da ke gabanmu. Muna son samun nasaranmu ta farko a fagen duniya kuma mu fita daga mataki na rukuni a karo na farko."

Koyo daga Chris Wood — da fatan lokacinsa

Da Chris Wood ya tsayar da matsayinsa a matsayin mai buga kwallaye mafi yawa da ginshikin New Zealand, Waine ya san hanyarsa ta samun mintoci a filin na iya wucewa ta gefen hagu. "Da farko na yi jinkiri kaɗan, amma yanzu ina ganin shi a matsayin abu mai kyau sosai. Ya ji dabi'a sosai. Yana ƙara wani ƙarin ƙarfi, wanda ya kamata ya taimake ni."

Daga Wood, ya koya fasahar haƙuri na dan wasan gaba. "A matsayin dan wasan gaba, kana iya rashin taɓa ƙwallon kusan duk lokacin wasan, amma lokacin da waccan dama ta zo, dole ne ka ɗauke ta. Ya tabbatar a kai a kai cewa yana iya yin haka."

Dama guda ɗaya. Haka ne Waine ke jira. "Zai kasance da wannan damar zama jarumi. Kana so wannan lokaci guda ɗaya kawai." Game da samun rigar Mohamed Salah bayan fuskantar Egypt? "Ina zato akwai mutane da yawa da za su yi amfani da matsayinsu na baya," in ji shi yana dariya. Amma wani bikin Shearer a kan babban mataki na duniya? "Watakila zai sake bayyana."