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This story perfectly highlighted the massive power of social media in modern football. What started as a clever idea by one content creator has turned into a feel-good global movement.
Tim Payne in action(Tim Payne /Instagram)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.
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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.
About the Author
Aachal Maniyar
Aachal Maniyar is a Senior Content Producer at LiveMint, where she covers US sports with a focus on major leagues, marquee events, and athlete-driven stories, while also reporting extensively on cricket and global sports. With over five years of first-hand journalism experience, she combines sharp editorial judgment with real-time sports storytelling across platforms. <br><br> Her reporting journey spans leading newsrooms including Thomson Reuters, India TV, BTVI, ET NOW, and CNBC TV18, where she has worked across breaking news, live match coverage, feature writing, interviews, video scripting, and anchoring. This multi-platform exposure has shaped her ability to deliver context-rich sports and business journalism tailored for both television and digital audiences. <br><br> Aachal has conducted and produced exclusive interviews with athletes and public figures such as India cricketer Dhruv Jurel, Indian women’s hockey captain Savita Punia, and industrialist Ratan Tata, along with several emerging and established sports personalities. Her body of work includes in-depth explainers, athlete profiles, emotionally resonant fan narratives, and data-backed match analysis across cricket, Olympic sports, and international competitions. <br><br> She holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune, and believes in reporting that is grounded in accuracy, clarity, and credibility. Her philosophy is simple: sports journalism should go beyond scores and statistics, capturing the human stories, pressure moments, and decisions that shape the game and the people who play it.
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