As the 2026 FIFA World Cup approaches, football fans are buzzing about more than just the usual superstars from Brazil, Argentina, France, and England. One name that has taken the internet by storm is New Zealand defender Tim Payne.
Only a few days ago, the Wellington Phoenix and All Whites player had roughly 5,000 Instagram followers. That number has now skyrocketed to an impressive 720,000, and it's still growing fast.
The Argentine creator behind the viral campaign
This incredible rise is thanks to popular Argentine internet personality El Scarso, whose real name is Valen Scarsini. Scarsini posted a video in Spanish targeting his massive Latin American audience. In the clip, he explained his fun mission: to identify the least-known footballer at the entire 2026 World Cup and turn him into an international sensation.
After carefully checking every squad, Scarsini landed on New Zealand’s All Whites in Group G. There, he found Tim Payne, a reliable but low-profile veteran defender. The video exploded in popularity, gathering nearly four million views on Instagram and more than two million on TikTok.
Scarsini’s idea was simple yet brilliant. He urged fans to forget national rivalries for a moment and rally behind one massive underdog. He asked followers to search for Payne’s Instagram, flood his posts with likes and comments, create fun videos about “the legend of Tim Payne,” and even look for his sticker in their Panini World Cup albums. The goal was to make the name Tim Payne known to millions before the tournament even begins.
Massive impact on New Zealand Football
The campaign has been a huge success. Tim Payne now boasts the largest social media following of any New Zealand football account. He has comfortably overtaken All Whites captain Chris Wood, who has 162,000 followers. The official accounts of the All Whites, Wellington Phoenix, and Auckland FC all remain under 100,000 followers each.
A seasoned A-League defender has suddenly become more famous online than the national team he represents.
With New Zealand set to open their World Cup campaign against Iran on June 16, millions of new fans across the globe will now be cheering for Payne, a player most had never heard of just one week ago.
Scarsini continues to fuel the excitement. He has already crowned Payne with high praise, declaring: “He is already the player of the tournament.”
Football fans everywhere will be watching to see if Tim Payne and the All Whites can create more magic both on and off the pitch in 2026.
