Five football players who rose to social media stardom at the World Cup

The lone happening you mightiness person successful communal with a World Cup shot subordinate is posting connected Instagram arsenic soon arsenic you’re backmost location from a societal gathering. Or, successful the lawsuit of Erling Haaland, portion you’re inactive successful the dressing country aft a win.

Football’s biggest stars are giving an insider look into the World Cup, their training, and idiosyncratic lives astatine the six-week tourney done societal media, and for immoderate of them, their pursuing has grown by tens of millions. Their on-pitch heroics, popularity, and idiosyncratic stories person led them to overnight societal media stardom during the World Cup.

Of course, shot icons similar Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Neymar person seen an exponential emergence successful their Instagram pursuing arsenic well. But the 2026 World Cup wasn’t the archetypal rodeo for these veterans, who person an evergreen societal media roar extracurricular the tournament.

Al Jazeera Sport takes a look astatine immoderate of the biggest societal media stars from this World Cup:

Erling Haaland — Netherlands

The goofy, witty and relatable six-foot-five-inch (195cm) Viking has been 1 of the World Cup’s astir loveable personalities connected the transportation and online.

The 25-year-old Norwegian striker, similar galore Gen Z societal media users, seems to beryllium chronically online erstwhile he’s not starring his state to caller World Cup heights.

From candid Snapchat stories to Instagram posts close aft winning to taking a taxidermied raccoon connected the level thrust home, Haaland has go a societal media improvement this World Cup.

It’s each acknowledgment to his authentic posting style, compared with much cautiously curated accounts that PR firms negociate for akin high-profile personalities.

Of Haaland’s Instagram pursuing of much than 70 million, 29 cardinal were added successful the past 30 days, according to analytics instrumentality Social Blade. He is projected to scope 75 cardinal aft the World Cup last and astir 322 cardinal by the extremity of the year.

Vozinha — Cape Verde

One of the champion feel-good stories of the tourney belongs to Vozinha, the Cape Verde goalkeeper whose heroics kept immoderate of the world’s champion teams from scoring a azygous extremity against the land federation — each of which his mother yet saw successful person aft she yet received a US visa to be the World Cup.

He leapt, dived and executed a drawstring of saves successful Cape Verde’s tourney opener against Spain to extremity the lucifer successful a daze 0-0 draw. By the clip helium opened his Instagram a fewer hours later, his pursuing surged from 500,000 to astir 5 million.

It presently sits astatine 29.3 cardinal followers, and the archetypal hype astir him inactive stands arsenic his posts garner millions of likes and interactions.

The 40-year-old joked however astir radical couldn’t adjacent constituent retired Cape Verde connected a representation earlier the World Cup, but his team’s standout show successful the radical stages and knockout lucifer helped alteration that.

Jude Bellingham — England

Good looks, loveable personality, Golden Boot contender — is determination thing Jude Bellingham isn’t large at? And a monolithic 50 cardinal Instagram following, of course.

The English midfielder’s World Cup travel whitethorn person ended successful disappointment earlier this week, but there’s a batch to beryllium said astir a subordinate whose fans sing “Hey Jude” for him aft starring his squad to triumph astatine erstwhile World Cup stages earlier the semifinal loss.

Bellingham, 23, has gained astir 9 cardinal followers successful the past 30 days, according to Social Blade, but his online popularity spiked by 3 cardinal successful October, erstwhile helium opened up astir his struggles with intelligence health.

Lamine Yamal — Spain

The teen sensation has been connected the up and up since bursting to stardom 2 summers agone with Spain’s UEFA 2024 win, and his societal media reflects the cool, candid, level-headed property helium carries connected and disconnected the pitch.

The 19-year-old’s Instagram provender is simply a premix of post-match photos, marque partnerships, aggregate trophy wins and pictures with household members with whom helium shares a adjacent relationship.

His younger brother, Keyne, has go thing of a personage astatine the World Cup, too, with his endearing antics arsenic Yamal shepherds the three-year-old astir the stadium transportation oregon watches him effort — and neglect — astatine golf.

The Barcelona striker could spot his popularity summation caller heights — and much Instagram followers, which presently fig 49.6 cardinal — aft this Sunday’s World Cup final arsenic Spain instrumentality connected Messi’s Argentina.

Social media has already been fawning implicit the full-circle infinitesimal that began with a now-viral photograph of Messi and Yamal successful 2007 for a UNICEF fundraising shoot.

Keyne, the small member of Lamine Yamal, is seen connected the surface during the FIFA World Cup 2026 quarterfinal lucifer betwixt Spain and Belgium astatine Los Angeles Stadium connected July 10 [David Ramos/Getty Images/AFP]

Tim Payne — New Zealand

Payne’s viral infinitesimal whitethorn person travel earlier the World Cup, but it was touching nonetheless.

The New Zealand defender’s Instagram pursuing exploded precocious successful May aft an Argentinian influencer decided helium was the least-known subordinate astatine the World Cup.

Valen Scarsini, known arsenic “elscarso” connected Instagram and TikTok, made a video encouraging his assemblage to springiness the Wellington Phoenix and All Whites defender’s relationship likes, comments and follows.

Payne’s Instagram pursuing grew from less ⁠⁠than 5,000 earlier the run to astir 5.8 million, turning the 32-year-old into 1 of the tournament’s astir improbable viral stars.

He adjacent addressed the outpouring of emotion successful a video connected Instagram, and yet met up with Scarsini astatine the team’s edifice successful Boca Raton, Florida, up of the World Cup.