Disaster Index: 5.1 Entry: Sharpened in the Right Conditions Cause: Scotland arriving at their first World Cup in 28 years in demonstrably decent form, which the historical record treats as a separate category of exposure. Category: Emotional / Historical Evidence: A comfortable thrashing of Bolivia in the final warm-up fixture. Descriptions in current circulation include "patient," "precise," and "clinical." Scotland have heard adjacent words before. The gap between the friendly and the group stage has, on previous evidence, not always been navigated without incident. Historical precedent: The 1974 and 1978 campaigns both arrived with credible cause for confidence. Neither concluded in the manner the pre-tournament condition suggested. The mechanism is not incompetence. It is the specific pressure applied when expectation has been substantiated. Affected parties: The squad, the support, and the section of the media now required to file encouraging copy one week before Haiti. Immediate outlook: Form is real. Its relationship to the 12th of June remains to be established.