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The only thing you might have in common with a World Cup football player is posting on Instagram as soon as you’re back home from a social gathering. Or, in the case of Erling Haaland, while you’re still in the dressing room after a win.
Football’s biggest stars are giving an insider look into the World Cup, their training, and personal lives at the six-week tournament through social media, and for some of them, their following has grown by tens of millions. Their on-pitch heroics, popularity, and personal stories have led them to overnight social media stardom during the World Cup.
Of course, football icons like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Neymar have seen an exponential rise in their Instagram following as well. But the ۲۰۲۶ World Cup wasn’t the first rodeo for these veterans, who have an evergreen social media boom outside the tournament.
Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at some of the biggest social media stars from this World Cup:
Erling Haaland — Netherlands
The goofy, witty and relatable six-foot-five-inch (۱۹۵cm) Viking has been one of the World Cup’s most loveable personalities on the pitch and online.
The ۲۵-year-old Norwegian striker, like many Gen Z social media users, seems to be chronically online when he’s not leading his country to new World Cup heights.
From candid Snapchat stories to Instagram posts right after winning to taking a taxidermied raccoon on the plane ride home, Haaland has become a social media phenomenon this World Cup.
It’s all thanks to his authentic posting style, compared with more carefully curated accounts that PR firms manage for similar high-profile personalities.
Of Haaland’s Instagram following of more than ۷۰ million, ۲۹ million were added in the past ۳۰ days, according to analytics tool Social Blade. He is projected to reach ۷۵ million after the World Cup final and nearly ۳۲۲ million by the end of the year.
Vozinha — Cape Verde
One of the best feel-good stories of the tournament belongs to Vozinha, the Cape Verde goalkeeper whose heroics kept some of the world’s best teams from scoring a single goal against the island nation — all of which his mother eventually saw in person after she finally received a US visa to attend the World Cup.
He leapt, dived and executed a string of saves in Cape Verde’s tournament opener against Spain to end the match in a shock ۰-۰ draw. By the time he opened his Instagram a few hours later, his following surged from ۵۰۰,۰۰۰ to nearly five million.
It currently sits at ۲۹.۳ million followers, and the initial hype around him still stands as his posts garner millions of likes and interactions.
The ۴۰-year-old joked how most people couldn’t even point out Cape Verde on a map before the World Cup, but his team’s standout performance in the group stages and knockout match helped change that.
Jude Bellingham — England
Good looks, loveable personality, Golden Boot contender — is there anything Jude Bellingham isn’t great at? And a massive ۵۰ million Instagram following, of course.
The English midfielder’s World Cup journey may have ended in disappointment earlier this week, but there’s a lot to be said about a player whose fans sing “Hey Jude” for him after leading his team to victory at previous World Cup stages before the semifinal loss.
Bellingham, ۲۳, has gained nearly nine million followers in the past ۳۰ days, according to Social Blade, but his online popularity spiked by three million in October, when he opened up about his struggles with mental health.
Lamine Yamal — Spain
The teen sensation has been on the up and up since bursting to stardom two summers ago with Spain’s UEFA ۲۰۲۴ win, and his social media reflects the cool, candid, level-headed personality he carries on and off the pitch.
The ۱۹-year-old’s Instagram feed is a mix of post-match photos, brand partnerships, multiple trophy wins and pictures with family members with whom he shares a close relationship.
His younger brother, Keyne, has become something of a celebrity at the World Cup, too, with his endearing antics as Yamal shepherds the three-year-old around the stadium pitch or watches him try — and fail — at golf.
The Barcelona striker could see his popularity gain new heights — and more Instagram followers, which currently number ۴۹.۶ million — after this Sunday’s World Cup final as Spain take on Messi’s Argentina.
Social media has already been fawning over the full-circle moment that began with a now-viral photo of Messi and Yamal in ۲۰۰۷ for a UNICEF fundraising shoot.
Tim Payne — New Zealand
Payne’s viral moment may have come before the World Cup, but it was touching nonetheless.
The New Zealand defender’s Instagram following exploded late in May after an Argentinian influencer decided he was the least-known player at the World Cup.
Valen Scarsini, known as “elscarso” on Instagram and TikTok, made a video encouraging his audience to give the Wellington Phoenix and All Whites defender’s account likes, comments and follows.
Payne’s Instagram following grew from fewer than ۵,۰۰۰ before the campaign to about ۵.۸ million, turning the ۳۲-year-old into one of the tournament’s most unlikely viral stars.
He even addressed the outpouring of love in a video on Instagram, and eventually met up with Scarsini at the team’s hotel in Boca Raton, Florida, ahead of the World Cup.
