World Cup history or World Cup limbo? Scotland and Steve Clarke face defining night against Brazil

The good news is history is within Scotland's grasp. Win or draw against Brazil, and Steve Clarke's side can start planning for the knockout stages of the World Cup. They'll be history-makers, the first group to ever get out of their group.

Lose? Well, welcome to the tepid waters of major tournament purgatory and the best-placed third-place teams. A 1-0 defeat could be enough to get through, but anything more? Well, it could be a three-day wait to find out if they're through or not. It's just impossible to know.

Ah, the beauty of the bloated tournament where teams and supporters are kept on tenterhooks, waiting for the permutations of results from other matches to find out if they're travelling on to Boston, New York or Mexico City and keeping the party going, or they're heading back to Scotland, having come so close, but agonisingly far once again.

But Scotland can't afford to think about all that. Put too much thought into ramifications and permutations and it's curtains. "I couldn't care less [about the permutations] to be honest," captain Andy Robertson said. "Tomorrow night after the game that may change, but when it comes to the game we're in control of our own destiny at the minute. Nobody knows what you need, but what we know is if we get a result tomorrow night, we're 100% through. For us, as long as we're in control, that's all we focus on."

What's undeniable is the magnitude of the opportunity on offer to Scotland. Get a result against Brazil and it'll be one of the greatest moments in Scottish football history. This group have been unapologetic in their ambition. This is their third major tournament under Clarke, but they all are collectively desperate for this to be the one where their competition continues beyond the group stages.

Miami's been a little more tentative in welcoming Scotland's fans than Boston. The whole cone on top of statue thing took a while longer to be embraced judging by the several social media examples. But they made their voice heard at the Miami Marlins' baseball match on Monday night, and the bars will surely be enjoying the influx of thirsty customers.

But ultimately, they don't want this to be the end point of their World Cup. For Scotland to get through against Brazil, they have to find more of a lethal touch in front of goal.

They managed just two shots on target against Haiti, with John McGinn's double-deflected effort the difference-maker in their 1-0 win. Against Morocco, Ché Adams was starved of service, with Scott McTominay their main attacking outlet. It lacked punch as they failed to muster a single shot on target. And at the back, in that first half, Morocco tore their defence apart. Shipping just one goal was a result at that point, Morocco should have been further ahead.

Scotland rallied in the second half, showed immense character but they'll need to find another level of performance against Brazil. The pre-match press conference for Scotland on Tuesday saw Clarke and Robertson field all manner of questions on the threats Brazil pose. Brazil have their array of attacking talents, with Vinicius Jnr, Rayan and Matheus Cunha in line to feature on Wednesday, while Neymar could make his comeback from a calf injury.

"Neymar's qualities are without question -- he's one of the superstars of the modern era," Clarke said. "He's had injury issues -- I'm sure [Carlo] Ancelotti will use him wisely." It was put to Jack Hendry earlier in the week that his task could be to mark Neymar out of the game. "I'll have no problem," Hendry said. "Obviously he was out in the league I was in. I'm quite comfortable coming up against Neymar. It should there be a really good battle and if he does play then I'll look forward to it."

Hendry won't have the injured Aaron Hickey for company in the back four, so it'll be down to Nathan Patterson to stop Vinicius Jnr. Scott McKenna is yet to play a minute in this competition, but he's available as is Lewis Ferguson who was training individually over the weekend. Clarke is likely to give Ben Gannon-Doak a start, which would see Scotland play in a 4-5-1 formation.

"I think we've shown in my time in charge that we can be flexible with our system," Clarke said. "[My plan is to] Pick the right team, give them the right tactics and rely on the players on the pitch. Don't over commit, and when you're forward don't leave yourself vulnerable to the counter attack. When you have the ball, create chances."

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Brazil will be without Raphinha, but Robertson was quick to run through their alternative options. He knows the Brazil goalkeeper well given it's his old Liverpool teammate Alisson.

He rates him as the best keeper in the world, but Scotland are trying to stay as introspective as possible. They learnt the harsh lesson against Morocco that if you start slowly, you'll get punished, with Scotland conceding after just 70 seconds.

"We know Brazil have got unbelievable players all over the pitch -- their front line is special and they can hurt you at any moment and it's up to us to be switched on at all times," Robertson said.

"Hopefully we can ask some questions too. We defend as a team, we attack as a team. We've defended better than we have heading forward -- we haven't created too many chances, but we're working hard on that as a unit. We're going to have to be at our highest level against Brazil."

This will be a defining match for this group. Scotland have talked about wanting to embrace history, rather than run away from it. Their fans have already made lifelong memories, and stolen hearts along the way. But now it's about bringing it all together on the pitch. Scotland know the magnitude of the task ahead, but they don't want to leave Miami wondering if this was a great missed opportunity.

"It's something to be excited about, not to fear," Robertson said. "It'd be great for us to get it over the line. Come tomorrow night if we manage to beat Brazil, I'm sure a couple of beers will be drunk by the Tartan Army."