The FIFA World Cup is two weeks away, but the world is getting into football fever and netizens are buzzing about a “lesser known” star: Tim Payne.
All credit for finding this new viral sensation goes to an Argentinian content creator, ‘El Scarso.’
On Tuesday, May 26, Argentine social media star Valen Scarsini, known by the handle ‘El Scarso’, shared a video post.
The post lists Payne as the “least known” player in the upcoming Kewi 26-man FIFA World Cup squad.
Why Scarsini described him as the “least known: because of his Instagram followers; the rest is history now.
He then went on to vouch for him and asked the community to come together and maximize his social media reach.
Scarsini asked his followers: “There are only a few days left before the World Cup starts and we are all waiting to cheer on our national team, but what if there was one player who united us all, a footballer we all support regardless of their nationality?”
Explaining the reasons, Scarsini said: “I looked at all the teams playing the World Cup for the least known player and after analyzing one by one I found it.
“Payne is a defender and has a very difficult task: help New Zealand win their first World Cup match. They have never won one.”
He urged everyone to action, adding: “What needs to be done to be the hero of the World Cup? Follow Tim Payne first. I’m going to tag him.”
Since then, Scarsini’s post has garnered over six million views across platforms: Instagram and TikTok.
The results speak for themselves.
After the Argentinian influencer posted the shoutout to Payne, who had fewer than 5,000 followers on Instagram, his following saw a massive increase, crossing over 2.7 million followers now.
A fun fact is that the Wellington Phoenix soccer star’s following has now surpassed that of ‘El Scarso’ himself, who has 722,000.
Payne, 32, has scored one goal and assisted four during the All Whites’ World Cup qualifiers.
Now Payne’s followers, if they remain intact with him, will be able to see him in action in all three group games in New Zealand at the World Cup.
Coach Darren Bazeley’s side begin their World Cup run against Iran on June 15 in Los Angeles.
They will then face Egypt in Vancouver on June 21, followed by Belgium also in Vancouver on June 26.
