First Touch '26
July 1, 2026 — Newsletter #43
First Touch is excited to continue the First Touch Writer Series with Musa Okwonga, co-founder of the Stadio podcast, and one of the game’s most distinctive voices. His essay this week reflects on joy of the World Cup.
“Chaos, Community, and a Tournament to Remember”
By Musa Okwonga
At its best, each World Cup offers joy in two forms: community, and chaos. As we enter the knockout stages, this tournament has already given us plenty of both. We saw community when Mexico fans welcomed their South Korean counterparts to their capital, holding one of them aloft as if he had just won them a trophy: we saw chaos when Paraguay eliminated Germany, inflicting the Europeans’ first-ever shootout defeat. (Paraguay have threatened this form of disorder for a while, coming close to beating the eventual champions France in 1998 and Spain in 2010; and, after all, what could be more disruptive of football’s universal laws than beating the Germans on penalties?)
At this World Cup we have needed community more than ever, especially since the president of one of its three co-hosts has at times seemed determined to destroy it. Fans of several African nations, their numbers depleted by the USA’s travel bans, still came together in glorious voice: Senegal, the country perhaps worst affected, rewarded that support against Iraq with spectacular strikes from Pape Gueye and Iliman Ndiaye, two of the best goals we will see this summer. Yes, the various repressions have often managed to sour the wider mood: and also, joy finds a way.
The World Cup should show you a level of exhilaration that you thought you’d never see. This edition gave us that from the very beginning, with Cape Verde’s miraculous point against heavily-favoured Spain, and continued with the embrace that Algeria received from their hosts in Kansas, where members of the public were delighted to learn about the Africans’ struggle for political freedom. The remarkable thing about this contest so far is that, despite its expansion from 32 teams to 48, very few competing nations have been a disappointment. Almost all of them, be it Curaçao’s point against Ecuador or Japan’s thrilling attempt to eliminate Brazil, will depart with a moment of euphoria that will last a lifetime.
In terms of individual stories at this World Cup, the biggest is either that of Cape Verde’s Vozinha, who denied Spain in their opening game, or Lionel Messi, who is currently intimidating not only opposing defences but Father Time himself. Messi, having given the North American public an intimate preview of his talents with his exploits at Inter Miami, is now touring the continent with his full band. And what a tour it is: we don’t expect the ageing rockers to be able to hit the highest notes, but somehow Messi is Bruce Springsteen at Glastonbury, outperforming the younger artists on the bill; not merely treating us to his greatest hits, but unleashing magnificent new material. At the time of writing, the Argentina playmaker is the leading goal scorer with six goals, having found the net for a record seven games in a row, and more times than anyone else has ever managed at this stage of the men’s tournament.
Thanks to Messi and his fellow stars, thanks to the endlessly raucous crowds, this World Cup will carry on taking us to unimaginable places. Some might ask why, if human beings are able to come together in celebration like this for a few weeks every four years, we can’t do so more often; why we can’t harness this collective hope and wonder for something even greater. It’s a fair question. So far, as humans, we haven’t been so good at gathering like this, regardless of age or background. But, then again, the World Cup is still less than a hundred years old, and look what it’s given us so far. Some might roll their eyes and say “it’s only football”; to which we can reply, “yes that’s true: and also, look at the billions of us who are not only engaged but utterly captivated. It’s only football that can do this.”
First Touch's World Cup 2026
First Touch has announced its 2026 slate of soccer coverage, featuring a daily studio show every morning, live from New York!
Hosted by Susannah Fuller, Matt Doyle, and David Gass alongside a rotating cast of journalists and experts, the show delivers the sharpest coverage of matches and previews of the upcoming day.
- Watch here.
- Listen here (Apple) or here (Spotify) or wherever you find your podcasts!
Every World Cup Nation, Previewed!
Over at our website kickbacksoccer.com, we’ve launched a first-of-its-kind team by team preview of every participating World Cup nation!
You can find both written overviews, and special video and podcast primers for every country, all right at your fingertips.
Check it out here and tell your friends!