First Touch '26

February 25, 2026 — Newsletter #25

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!

Remembering a Random World Cup Legend Every Week:

Mexico and Chivas de Guadalajara legend Omar Bravo!

Headlines :

It’s been a tough week of news for World Cup 2026. Let’s start with the saddest, with World Cup host city Guadalajara mired in violence.

A government crackdown on the cartels set off a string of violence in Guadalajara that we’ll recommend you read about in the New York Times or another publication of repute. We’ll leave you otherwise with this: while the violence in Mexico has sparked conversation about the safety of the World Cup, we’re more concerned about the safety of our friends in one of soccer’s greatest cities, and in one of the wonderful nations on earth. 

In the U.S., the conversation around the World Cup burden of costs is heating up.

Yes, with FIFA estimated to rake in a profit of over $10 billion dollars, U.S. host cities are coming up empty to pay for all the necessary costs:

• Cancellations are starting to occur for events funded by host cities, astonishingly now including the Liberty State Park fan zone that was planned in the host city for the final, New York / New Jersey.
• The U.S. host cities have gone so far as to hire lobbyists to try to acquire up to $625 million in federal funding to cover the costs of security and other expernditures.

Finally, coaching legend Dick Advocaat has resigned as Curacao’s manager. 

The 78-year-old Dutchman has a one-of-one resume, with the recent addition of steering the smallest nation in World Cup history to qualification.

Citing a family health emergency, Advocaat will be replaced by another Dutch manager formerly of PSV, Fred Rutten.

Tickets:

We have a surprise ticket update! Did you get a weird email from FIFA saying you have a 48-hour window to buy? That’s real!

FIFA initiated an unannounced, unplanned window for select fans who did not receive tickets in the previous lottery. While many found these emails, and I quote, “sketchy,” they have been confirmed as real.

So…check whichever email you used to sign up for the lottery, because you may have surprise access to purchase tickets!

Newsletter Halftime: Let's Do Some Trivia!

2025 featured the “manager making decisions with AI” headline, but astrology? That’s the OG crazy way to decide a lineup.

France’s manager at the 2006 and 2010 World Cups, Raymond Domenech, is an avid amateur astrologer. He’s cited astrology as an influencer of his decisions (even particularly calling out Leo’s as bad defenders).

The richest rumor is that it is his documented distrust of Scorpio’s that kept Robert Pires surprisingly pinned to the bench.

Whether it’s true or not, we’re here for it. Out with Data & insights departments, in with the Astrology & Etsy Witchery team!

A Thing We're Excited About:

The World Cup is an amazing opportunity for micros to become macros. Because of that, there’s always some new trend in the sport that comes out of the tournament as the trend du jour.

We love an interesting take at First Touch, and we’re excited to see what this summer generates. While set pieces are already the rage, here are some other options for big trends:

• The return of two striker systems.
• “The World is Flat,” or the distance between the top teams and the rest is shrinking.
• The emergence of Gran Colombia (Ecuador + Colombia).
• Wingbacks are just what wingers were, who are we kidding.
• Japanese and South Korean cultural mania, but make it soccer.

Some More Good Vibes ('Cause We Need It):

It’s rough out there right now, so here’s a raccoon on a pitch, with commentary from Kickback friend Calen Carr:

Road to '26:

Brazil, France, Croatia, Colombia, Egypt…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 spring 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!

Road to '26:

Introducing  Kickback Soccer Media’s First Touch Weekly, our premium 2026 World Cup podcast, covering the biggest stories across global soccer—from players and matches to politics, culture, host cities, the fan experience, and beyond. Hosted by Susannah Fuller and David Gass alongside a rotating cast of journalists and experts, the show delivers smart, inclusive analysis and deep dives into everything shaping the road to and through the FIFA World Cup 2026—and continues beyond the tournament as a weekly destination for what’s next in the global game.

• This week’s episode dives deep on the talks of 2026 boycott with Alex Abnos, the little known “almost” of a 1986 World Cup in the U.S. with Michael Lewis, and the case of the fake gold medals for a South Korean soccer team.
• Listen here (Apple) or here (Spotify) or wherever you find your podcasts!