Tare da kusa da matakin kwata-na-ƙarshe na FIFA World Cup 2026, babbar gasar tarihin ƙwallon ƙafa ta riga ta samar da tarin labarai masu ban sha'awa — daga Lionel Messi da ke ƙin yarda da shekaru, zuwa sa hannun siyasa, da kuma cece-kuce game da hutu na sha ruwa.

Babban tauraruwa na gasar

Babu wanda ya yi sata da Messi. Yana da shekara 39 a duniya, yayinda da yawa suna zaton zai taka ƙaramin rawa, kyaftin na Argentina ya zama babban mai zura ƙwallo kuma mafi jan hankali a gasar. Wasanninsa sun ƙara tabbatar da iƙirarinsa na zama mafi ƙwazon ɗan wasa a tarihin wasa.

Bai kasance shi kaɗai daga manyan 'yan wasa ba. Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, Ousmane Dembele, da Vinicius Jnr duk sun zura ƙwallo. Jude Bellingham ya kasance karfin canjin wasa ga England. Har ma Cristiano Ronaldo ya samar da lokuta don kashe masu zarginsa, yana cin karensu daga masu rauni lokacin da Portugal ta zura ƙwallaye biyar a ragar Uzbekistan.

A cikin sabbin fuskokin gasar, Johan Manzambi ɗan Switzerland mai shekara 20 ya bayyana kansa a mataki na duniya, yayin da ɗan wasan tsaron raga na Cape Verde mai shekara 40 Vozinha ya sace zukatan masu son wasa. Folarin Balogun na USA ya fara da kyau kafin gasar ta ɗauki sabon alkibla da ba a yi tsammani ba.

Shin tsarin ƙungiyoyi 48 ya tabbatar da kimar sa?

Damuwar da ta gabata a buga wasan tana da alaƙa da rashin daidaito da sakamako marasa gasa, kuma matakin rukunin ya samar da cin kashin da ya yi muni ga Qatar, Curacao, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, da Iraq. Duk da haka, mafi kyawun shaida na tsarin da aka faɗaɗa ya zo daga Cape Verde.

Ɗaya daga cikin ƙananan ƙasashe da suka taɓa kai ga Kofin Duniya, Cape Verde ta tsaya da zakarun Turai Spain ba tare da wata ƙwallo ba tana shiga, sa'an nan kuma ta kawo wa zakarun duniya Argentina wahala mai yawa a zagaye na 32. A wancan, Qatar ta yi daidai da Switzerland, Curacao ta tsaya Ecuador, kuma DR Congo ta ɗauki maki ɗaya daga Portugal don kai ga zagayen knockout na farko a tarihinsu.

South Africa ta fita daga mataki na rukunin a karon farko. Maƙasudin ƙasa Canada ta samu maki na farko da nasara, tana wucewa zuwa zagaye na 16. Switzerland ta kai kwata-na-ƙarshe na Kofin Duniya a karon farko tun 1954, kuma Norway ta kai zagaye takwas a karon farko.

Wasan kwalliya mai ban sha'awa har zuwa ƙarshe

Babu Kofin Duniya da ya samar da ƙarin ƙwallaye a cikin lokacin ƙari — goma a jimilce, ciki har da juyin Argentina mai ban mamaki a kan Egypt. Hutu na sha ruwa da duba VAR sun ƙara lokacin ƙari zuwa tsawon da ba a taɓa gani ba, kuma waɗannan mintoci na ƙari sun samar da abubuwan da ba za a manta da su ba.

Ƙarshen wasan Algeria da Austria ya kasance mai ban mamaki sosai a cikin lokacin ƙari. Iran ta ga an soke mata ƙwallo a daƙiƙoƙi na ƙarshe a kan Egypt, yana kawo ƙarshen begen ta na ci gaba. Gabriel Martinelli na Brazil ya zura ƙwallon nasara mafi ƙarshe a wasan knockout tun 1966 — a minti 95, ciwon zuciya ga Japan.

Hutu na sha ruwa: canjin wasa

Masu son wasa a filin sun bayyana motsin ransu — an yi murya ta nuna rashin jin daɗin hutu na tilastawa na mintoci uku da aka kawo a tsakiyar kowace rabin. An ƙirƙira su don kare 'yan wasa daga zafin rana mai tsanani a Arewacin Amirka, amma amfani da su a filayen wasa masu sanyaya iska ya jawo suka.

Tasirin su a kan wasa yana da matuƙar muhimmanci. Ƙungiyoyin tsaro na iya sake daidaita tsarinsu; ƙungiyoyi masu ɓaci na samun jagorar kai tsaye daga manajojinsu. England, musamman, sun amfana daga umarnin manaja Thomas Tuchel a lokutan waɗannan hutu.

Shugaban FIFA Gianni Infantino ya nuna, bayan nasarar England a kan DR Congo, cewa waɗannan hutu na aiki da manufa mai faɗi fiye da yanayin yanayi — suna ba wa malamai lokaci na musamman don yin hulɗa kai tsaye da 'yan wasansu a kowace wasa. Ko za su zama wani ɓangare na dindindin na ƙwallon ƙafa ya kasance gaba, amma tasirin su a wannan gasar ba za a iya musun sa ba.

Siyasa a cikin da wajen filin wasa

Alaƙar tsakanin Infantino da Shugaban Amirka Donald Trump ta kasance ƙarƙashin bincike mai tsanani bayan Trump ya bayyana cewa ya kai wa Infantino kiran da kansa don neman sake duba dakatar Balogun kafin wasan zagaye na 16 tsakanin USA da Belgium. Kwamitin hukunci na FIFA a ƙarshe ya yarda wa Balogun ya buga. Masanin wasa na Sky Sports Gary Neville ya ce a kan ITV: «Wannan ba daidai ba ne.»

Wahalar siyasa ba ta tsaya a can ba. Kyaftin na Iran Mehdi Taremi ya bayyana ƙungiyarsa a matsayin «wadanda aka zalunta» saboda ƙuntatawa na harkokin logistiki da ya tilasta musu canza sansanin horarwa daga Amirka zuwa Mexico, tare da kin ba ma'aikata biza, da kuma taƙaita lokacin da za su iya kasancewa a biranen Amirka masu masaukin baki. An hana ɗan wasan tsaro na Somalia Omar Artan shiga ƙasar, yayin da aka tsare maharan Iraq Aymen Hussein awanni bakwai a filin jirgin sama na Chicago. Magoya bayan daga Iran, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Ghana, Uzbekistan, Ecuador, Morocco, da Jordan duk sun gano cewa yana da wuyar gaske ko kuma ba zai yiwu ba su sami biza don halartar gasar.