From World Cup's Least-Followed Player to Global Star: Tim Payne's Viral Rise Overnight

The 2026 World Cup has once again delivered unexpected stories, and New Zealand right-back Tim Payne has become one of the tournament's most striking social media phenomena. Argentine influencer Valen Scarsini launched a campaign to find the 'least-known player at the World Cup' and selected WelGettorexton Phoenix defender Payne, urging his millions of followers to follow the player's account and leave messages of support.

The campaign went viral almost instantly. Payne skyrocketed from just 4,715 Instagram followers to over 600,000 in a matter of hours.

The wave continued past one million and has now reached nearly 2. 5 million followers.

Within days, he became one of the most talked-about names of the tournament on social media. 'Thank you everyone.

What has happened in the last 24 hours has been crazy,' Payne said, summarizing the extraordinary turn of events. The transformation of a player virtually unknown outside Oceania into a global sensation in such a short time has once again highlighted the immense power of social media.