New Zealand defender Tim Payne has become a viral social media sensation ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, his Instagram followers soaring from around 4,700 to more than 5.1 million by June 5, 2026 [1, 2].
The surge followed a campaign launched last week by Argentine influencer Valen Scarsini, also known as elscraso or El Scarso, who called Payne the least-known World Cup player and urged fans to support him [1, 3]. Scarsini posted a video May 27-28 asking followers to help raise Payne’s profile ahead of the tournament held June 11 to July 19 in Mexico, the US, and Canada [3].
Payne thanked Scarsini and followers in a June 2 video message posted to Instagram, expressing gratitude in several languages for the unexpected boost to his social media presence [4, 2]. On June 3, Payne met Scarsini at the New Zealand training camp in Florida, presenting him with a national team jersey as a token of thanks [5].
New Zealand coach Darren Bazeley said he was “bewildered” by the social media phenomenon but praised Payne for handling the attention well. "He's probably the type of person who doesn't get over-excited with too much. He knows why he's here and what he wants to get from this tournament," Bazeley said [1]. Midfielder Marko Stamenic added, "He’s fully focused on what task we have here," stressing the hype has not affected Payne’s concentration [1].
Payne’s follower count has eclipsed many top New Zealand sports figures, including cricketer Kane Williamson with 3.3 million and the All Blacks rugby team with 2.8 million followers [4, 3]. With New Zealand’s total population around 5.3 million, Payne’s following nearly matches that figure [3].
New Zealand’s team is the lowest-ranked at the tournament and has struggled in warm-up matches, most recently losing 0-4 to Haiti June 4 in Miami [5]. They are preparing for a final friendly against England at the weekend before the World Cup begins.
Payne acknowledged the spotlight benefits New Zealand football but said he would stay grounded. "It’s positive, but I won’t change. I’ll keep doing my job and focus on representing my country at my best," he said [5].
