First Touch '26

January 12, 2026 — Newsletter #20

Remembering a Random World Cup Legend Every Week:

We’re pulling out the big guns this week. One of the coolest to ever do it, The Netherlands’ Edgar Davids!

Headlines :

• Yes, it’s early, but it’s the most important World Cup topic this week. President Trump’s threats to invade Danish territory Greenland has issued the first utterances of “boycott.”
• The Guardian has coverage of initial rumblings from UEFA and European federation leaders invoking the nuclear option should Trump take aggressive action against NATO ally Denmark.
• Assuming a transatlantic war doesn’t break out, we will have some very interesting World Cup basecamps! Being centrally located and featuring multiple high-quality facilities, Kansas City looks to have booked Argentina, The Netherlands, England, and Algeria.
• Other full-time or part-time base camp announcements include Spain at a Chattanooga boarding school in advance of their Atlanta matches (hope they see Lookout Mountain), South Korea in Guadalajara, and France in Boston.
• Our favorite announcement so far? Japan at Vanderbilt in midtown Nashville. We’re looking forward to a historic run from the Japanese team, but also wouldn’t mind seeing the players’ reaction to experiencing their first fire engine-turned-bachelorette party bus.
• The big news and the biggest drama in international soccer this week was courtesy the African Cup of Nations, which saw Senegal crowned champions after defeating Morocco on their home soil.
• Morocco’s incredible roster and laudable hosting of the tournament had them as favorites going into the final, but many other African fans thought that the refereeing was in the bag for a Moroccan title. When Senegal had a goal overturned and Morocco was awarded a soft penalty in extra time, Senegal walked off the field in protest.
• Amazingly, Senegal’s Sadio Mane rallied the players back on the pitch after a long break. Moroccan star Brahim Diaz’s “Panenka” from the penalty spot was then easily caught by the keeper, and Senegal bagged a winner right before the final whistle.
• Many have decried the drama of what will be a legendary final, but what is indisputable is the quality of soccer that continues to increase in Africa. More on that…throughout this newsletter!

Tickets:

The phase three World Cup ticket lottery closed last week. All applicants will be notified some time after February 5th whether they’ve won the lottery, and automatically charged for their tickets if so.

There is one new opportunity online, however. FIFA Pass, the prioritization for World Cup ticket holders requiring a Visa to travel to the U.S. is now online.

A Thing We're Excited About:

Another African Semifinalist?

One of the most engaging storylines of the 2022 World Cup was Morocco becoming the first ever African semi-finalist.

Morocco has since even further established their credentials as an emerging world power, but 2026 offers much more from the African contingent:

• Mohammed Salah is one of soccer’s biggest stars, but Egypt has found a second talisman since 2022 in Manchester City’s Omar Marmoush. Can their star-power energize a knockout round run?
• Ivory Coast has featured arguably Africa’s biggest player of the millennium in Didier Drogba, but now has found balance and dual young stars in Manchester United’s Amad Diallo and RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande.
• Ghana has been Africa’s strongest champion for much of the millennium, but they also now feature a more dynamic attack, including stars Mohammed Kudus, Antoine Semenyo, and Inaki Williams.
• Senegal now move into the spotlight as African Cup of Nations winners. Senegal icon Sadio Mane will get much of the plaudits, but the central midfield duo of Lamine Camara and Pape Matar Sarr may drive their success. With others like Nicolas Jackson ready to feature, Senegal embodies African nations’ development of depth and balance to accompany their stars.

Newsletter Halftime: Let's Do Some Trivia!

While talks of a boycott are very nascent, it has reminded some of an overlooked boycott from England’s 1966 World Cup.

After FIFA’s decision to have Africa compete in a playoff with Asia and Oceania for a spot at the World Cup, which followed their decision to allow apartheid South Africa to play in Asia for qualifying, all of the African confederation decided to boycott the World Cup. At the time, 16 teams competed in the World Cup — ten from Europe, four from South America, one from Central America and the Caribbean.

Of course FIFA was founded in France and was primarily European at the time, as denoted by the ten of sixteen teams. Meanwhile, more and more former colonies were establishing independence, increasing the size of the African confederation, Caf, to 15.

Things have of course changed drastically now, as African nations feature some of the world’s most famous players, as well as some of the most competitive teams.

USMNT Vibes Update:

Well, no new injuries this week, so…

Why?

• Again, the first goal is no injuries. And no injuries.
• The Ricardo Pepi injury? May not be so bad as to prevent a major transfer to England’s Fulham. Fulham + Americans = Good Vibes.
• Perhaps the U.S. has found the “Chosen One”? By chosen one we of course mean a young center back ready to solidify the backline, and that’d be the 19-year-old Bundesliga starter Noahkai Banks. He’s become a consistent 90-minute player at FC Augsburg.
• On the other side, there were no standout performers of the week that necessarily made you jump out of the chair.
• What to watch? Gio Reyna needs more minutes, Chris Richards needs Crystal Palace to return-to-form, Josh Sargent needs a transfer, and the USMNTers in MLS need to start hot.

In December, Kickback Soccer Media released our special First Touch World Cup nation capsules, each a 10-20 minute story on the past and present of each World Cup nation’s soccer identity, on-and-off the pitch. We’ve nearly released one for all 42 nations who have qualified for the World Cup! 

You can listen to our podcasts and follow First Touch now by:

• Listening on your preferred platform in our “Kickback ‘26” feed found on our Linktree here.
• Following us on Bluesky, Instagram, TikTok or YouTube @firsttouchksm
• Find our links at kickbacksoccer.com!