Tim Payne, 32-year-old right-back from the New Zealand national team, went from having around 4,000 followers on Instagram to nearly 5 million in just a few days, becoming the most unexpected viral phenomenon of the 2026 World Cup thanks to a campaign orchestrated by Argentine influencer Valen Scarsini.
It all began on May 26 when Scarsini, known on social media as 'ElScarso', posted a video on Instagram with a proposal as simple as it was explosive: to make the least known footballer of the tournament the star.
"What if we make the least known soccer player the star of the World Cup? What would happen if there were a player who united us all, one whom we all supported regardless of our nationality?" proposed the content creator after analyzing team by team until finding Payne, whose photo in the New Zealand jersey had barely received 276 'likes'.
The result was immediate and overwhelming. In less than 48 hours, that same post exceeded 538,000 "likes," and Payne gained over 1.5 million followers, a number that continued to grow to four million in the following days.
Scarsini himself acknowledged that the situation got out of hand: "The Tim Payne situation spiraled out of control. It's going to raise my blood pressure! The video reached creators who aren't even from the football world."
Fans from all over Latin America dedicated songs, memes, and chants to him. The creator of 'Che, soy Juan' composed a viral cumbia that is already sounding like the anthem of the phenomenon: "Watch out for Tim Payne in the World Cup, he's the new Di María. No pain, no gain, no pain, no gain. The people's Tim is the true king."
The player's Wikipedia page was also edited by his new fans, who described him as "widely regarded as one of the best players in the world, known for his speed, dribbling, and precise finishing."
Payne discovered the phenomenon in the most ordinary way possible. "One afternoon I started receiving some random notifications and then I saw that someone had tagged me in a video. It was in Spanish and my Spanish isn't very good, so I showed it to my wife," he explained to the New Zealand Herald.
His wife, Michelle Peters, a photographer with a Costa Rican mother, translated what was happening as the algorithm transformed his life in real time.
The footballer responded with humor and gratitude, recording a video in Spanish that further humanized the phenomenon: "Hello everyone, thank you so much for all your support. Sorry for my Spanish, I’m still practicing on Duolingo." He also privately wrote to Scarsini: "I was wondering why my social media was going crazy and I found your post, man. I appreciate the support, thank you, brother."
Away from the limelight, Payne is a discreet-profile defender born in Auckland who has been playing since 2019 for Wellington Phoenix in the New Zealand A-League. He previously spent time with Blackburn Rovers in 2012 without establishing himself and had a stint at Portland Timbers 2, a U.S. league affiliate. He has accumulated over 50 international matches with the "All Whites" and even participated in the London 2012 Olympics, where he faced Brazil's Neymar, Marcelo, and Thiago Silva.
New Zealand, which has never won a match in a World Cup, will make its debut in Group G on June 15 against Iran in Los Angeles, with Belgium and Egypt as their next opponents. It will be the first chance to see the player that the internet decided to adopt in action.
Additionally, this story includes another unexpected meeting: that of Valen Scarsini, who traveled to Miami to meet the new global idol. A moment that is already circulating on social media, much to the delight of all of Payne's fans.
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