Steve Clarke ya isa ga FIFA World Cup 2026 yana mai'amana cewa mutum ne mai canji, amma lambobin Scotland a fagen duniya suna ba da labari mai sananne — kuma mai damun.

Da kare guda ɗaya a cikin wasanni uku na rukuni, ƙungiyar Clarke na kan gab da fita a zagayen farko tun, kamar yadda ya faru a manyan gasar da suka gabata ba tare da kaiwa matakan knockout ba.

Lambobin kai hari

A Euro 2024, Scotland sun samu harbe-harbe 17 kawai a wasanni uku — mafi ƙarancin tare da kowace ƙasa tun lokacin da aka gabatar da matakin rukuni a shekara ta 1980. FIFA World Cup 2026 bai nuna ingantawa mai yawa ba.

Yayin da wasannin rukuni ke kusantowa ƙarshe, babu ƙungiya a gasar da ta zura kwalaye ƙarce a kowace wasa fiye da Scotland. Sun raba wannan matsayin da Curacao, ƙungiyar da ke matsayi 41 ƙasan su a cikin jerin duniya kuma tana shiga World Cup a karo na farko.

Ƙungiyar Clarke ta kuma yi ƙasa da tsammanin ta na harbe-harbe da 1.6, kuma suna daidai da Curacao da Haiti don harbe-harbe a rukunin don kowace wasa — ƙungiyoyi takwas kawai daga cikin 48 masu ƙarancin matsakaici.

Bayan John McGinn ya bude lissafi da Haiti a ranar wasa ta farko, Scotland sun jira mintuna 200 kafin su samu harbe-harbe na gaba a rukunin. Wannan fari ya ƙare kawai da kai-kai Scott McTominay a minti na 49 a kan Brazil.

Canje-canje na tsari, takaici mai sananne

Ba kamar Euro 2024 ba — inda aka yi wa Clarke tsananin sukar saboda ɗorewa bango mai lamba biyar — mai horo na Scotland ya canja tsarinsa a dukkan wasanni uku. 4-4-2 an yi amfani da shi a kan Haiti, yayin da bambance-bambancen 4-2-3-1 an yi amfani da su a kan Morocco da Brazil, tare da Kieran Tierney da Ben Gannon-Doak suna taka rawar gani a sifofi daban-daban na gefen.

A takarda, layukan sun kasance masu alƙibla zuwa gaba. A aikace, aiwatarwa ta ci Scotland gundumomi har sau da dama.

Nasara 1-0 a kan Haiti ta kasance mai bacin rai a duk lokaci, kuma Clarke ya ƙi shawarwarin cewa ƙungiyarsa ya kamata ta ci da daidaituwa fiye a matsayin "labarin mutanen da ba su fahimci kwallon ƙafa." A kan Morocco, tarkon offside na Scotland ya kasa a cikin mintuna biyu ya ba Arewacin Afirka jagoranci. A kan Brazil, Scott McKenna mai shakka aka ɗebo masa ƙwallon a cikin mintuna bakwai, wanda ya taimaka wajen kashi mai tsada.

Muhawara mai zurfi

Waɗannan kurakuran tsaron sun sake kunna tambaya mai tsawo: shin 'yan wasan Scotland ba su kai matakin ba, ko shirin abubuwan wasanni yana cutar da su? Wannan muhawara ba za ta warware ta cikin sauri ba.

Scotland sun cancanci shiga gasar babba guda uku daga cikin huɗu da suka gabata, wanda ya wakilci ci gaba na gaskiya idan aka yi la'akari da inda ƙasar take shekaru goma da suka wuce. Amma cancanci kawai ba ya gamsar da magoya baya waɗanda ke son ganin kwallon knockout.

Da damarsu na fita daga rukuni yanzu ana ƙiyasin ta kasance kusa da kashi 5, karar World Cup ta Scotland na kama zuwa ƙarshe — tun kafin ta fara da gaske.