First Touch '26

February 3, 2026 — Newsletter #22

Remembering a Random World Cup Legend Every Week:

Dennis Bergkamp. Just, this goal.

Headlines :

• Hot on the heels of World Cup 2026 is LA28, and this week, we got some stadium announcements! Uniquely, soccer is not contained to just the host city for the Olympics, and it turns out the LA28 will be a national affair.
• Six MLS stadiums will join LA in hosting Olympic soccer, including San Jose, San Diego, St. Louis, Nashville, Columbus, and the new New York City FC stadium in Queens.
• After the early stages of the tournament, both the men’s and women’s will converge at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles for final matches.
• In other host news, one of the biggest draws of 2026 seems to have settled on their base camp. Brazil is selecting Bergen, New Jersey, and the New York Red Bulls’ facility, for the World Cup.
• With Spain (Chattanooga), France (Boston), Germany (Winston-Salem, NC), Argentina, England (both Kansas City), and now Brazil having selected host cities, the World Cup favorites are set, and now many of the smaller nations are likely to make their choice.
• In the U.S. camp, the drama this week came off the pitch, as USMNT regular Tim Weah lamented the high cost of tickets to the French press, and faced rebuke from his manager Maurico Pochettino.
• Pochettino claimed it was not the role of players to comment on politics or ticket prices, and that they should do their talking “on the pitch.” With FIFA becoming increasingly intertwined with politics, we don’t expect this to be the last time a USMNT player shares their thoughts on this summer publicly, no matter Pochettino’s take.

Tickets:

We’re in a quiet period between the last lottery and the awarding of tickets, with resale costs continuing to skyrocket as no new supply enters the market. That will change soon, however.

All applicants from Phase Three of the FIFA World Cup lottery will be notified some time after February 5th whether they’ve won the lottery, and automatically charged for their tickets if so.

Dark Horse Vibes Team of the Week

Japan.

Is there an easier dark horse team to root for then Japan? Probably not. The Japanese, who have never progressed beyond the Round-of-16, likely will feature their deepest and most balanced roster in their history. 

Much like the U.S., Japan has steadily progressed since the founding of their domestic league, the J-League, in the 90’s.

We’re especially excited about their wingers Takefusa Endo and Kaoru Mitoma, but Japan is about their collective play, and we could see them making their first ever quarterfinal in 2026.

A Thing We're Excited About:

Alaska-born Seattle homegrown Obed Vargas. Chicago Fire local homegrown Brian Gutierrez. Phoenix’s own Richie Ledezma. California’s Julian Araujo and Jorge Ruvalcaba.

The number of Mexican national team “dual-nationals,” or players who can represent multiple countries, becomes even greater amongst their youth teams. “El Tri” is increasingly looks to the U.S. and MLS development academies for future talent, and it's bringing two already closely-linked rivals even closer together.

It seems only fitting that in a World Cup that is shared by the U.S. and Mexico (and Canada), that we begin to see both rosters littered with players who can select to represent either nation.

For more on Mexico’s 2026 aspirations, check out our First Touch ‘26 preview:

Newsletter Halftime: Let's Do Some Trivia!

No country has ever won a men’s World Cup with a manager from another nation. Not one. Ever.

If that trend were to hold true, let’s see which countries would be out-of-the-running…England (Thomas Tuchel), Brazil (Carlo Ancelotti), and yeah, the U.S. (Mauricio Pochettino).

A Way Too Early USMNT Head Coach Candidate List:

This is an exercise not just in player quality, but also a consideration of how many matches they’d expect to play (and whether they take penalties. Our prohibitive top five:

5. Haaland (Norway)

4. Woltemade (Germany)

3. L. Martinez (Argentina)

2. Mbappe (France)

1. Kane (Germany)

Road to '26:

Brazil, France, Croatia, Colombia…you don’t have to wait until the summer to see the world’s best play in the U.S.! 

Road to ‘26 kicks off this summer with the best players in the world competing on your doorstep 

Go to Roadto26.com to sign up and get early updates around upcoming match announcements and pre-sales, and to purchase for March’s matches.

Don’t sell your car for a soccer ticket this summer. See the world’s best play in Road to ‘26!