Steve Clarke has told Scotland to prepare for Neymar, with Brazil expected to have the forward back from injury for Wednesday’s Group C finale in Miami. The Scotland manager said Neymar’s qualities were beyond doubt and warned that even a place on the bench could still change the match.
That is why Rayan is being searched now: Brazil are not just facing a decisive fixture, they may also be getting one of their biggest names back at the exact moment Scotland need a point to almost certainly reach the knockout stages. Clarke called Neymar an icon and one of the superstars of the modern era, then added that Brazil remain a major threat regardless of who starts.
Clarke did not try to downplay the scale of the task. He said Brazil had already shown in the tournament that they are a big threat and suggested they would expect to be among the last four by the end of it. His point was simple. Scotland can plan for a full-strength Brazil, but they cannot know whether Neymar will be used from the beginning or introduced later to alter the game.
That uncertainty matters because the final call sits with Carlo Ancelotti, not with Scotland. Andy Robertson made the same point from the other side, saying he had no preference over whether Neymar starts and that Brazil have quality in every position. He listed Neymar, Vinícius Júnior, Endrick and Gabriel Martinelli as part of the problem Scotland must solve, before saying the visitors would need to prepare as best they can against one of the best teams in the world.
Scotland’s own picture is less complete. Aaron Hickey will be absent again after missing the 1-0 loss to Morocco, although Clarke said he hoped the defender would be ready for the knockout stages. Everyone else, he said, is fit and raring to go. That leaves Scotland with a narrower margin for error against a side that can change shape and tempo with one substitution.
There is another complication. Clarke said Scotland had already thought through what to do if rain, thunder or lightning interrupt the match, after a lightning delay in Philadelphia on Monday stretched on for more than two hours. He said Scotland had a strategy in mind, but also admitted nobody can know how long a stoppage might last once the clock resets around lightning. For Scotland, that means the night in Miami is not only about Neymar’s return. It is about whether they can keep their footing long enough to take the point they need and leave Brazil’s most dangerous decision until the teams are already on the pitch.
