World Cup viral list spotlights Tim Payne, Jameis Winston and Japan fans
ESPN’s post-tournament rundown focused on off-field clips, including a New Zealand defender’s sudden fame and Japan supporters cleaning up stadium seats.
By Deshawn Carter · Sports Writer
3 min read
A New Zealand defender with fewer than 5,000 Instagram followers became one of the 2026 World Cup’s early internet winners before the tournament had even kicked off, according to ESPN’s post-tournament viral moments rundown.
ESPN’s Chris Wright looked back at the off-field scenes that cut through during the five-week World Cup, setting aside goals, comebacks and match drama for the clips and social posts that traveled without a ball being struck.
The list included Wellington Phoenix fullback Tim Payne, Japan fans cleaning stadium sections with help from NFL quarterback Jameis Winston, and a widely shared post involving France’s Rayan Cherki.
Payne gets the internet treatment
Payne’s sudden surge began with Argentine content creator Valen Scarsini, known online as El Scarso, ESPN reported. Scarsini identified Payne as the World Cup player with the lowest profile by Instagram following and urged his own audience to boost the New Zealand defender’s account.
According to ESPN, Payne had under 5,000 followers at the time. Before the tournament started, that figure had climbed to 5 million, with many of the new followers coming from South America.
An Instagram Reel from Payne’s verified account, shared with El Scarso’s account, showed more than 3.6 million likes and over 144,000 comments on the embed cited by ESPN. Payne’s profile displayed 6 million followers in the Instagram embed.
ESPN said the burst of attention may have contributed to Payne later moving to Paraguayan club Olimpia, while stopping short of presenting the social-media surge as the sole cause.
Japan fans clean up, Winston joins in
Japan supporters also made ESPN’s list for a familiar World Cup ritual: cleaning their section after matches. A SportsCenter Instagram post shared with ESPN said Japan fans were joined by Jameis Winston while tidying up after a match.
ESPN reported that Winston helped collect trash after Japan’s group-stage game against the Netherlands. The SportsCenter post cited in the piece showed more than 304,000 likes and 827 comments.
The habit was not limited to supporters. ESPN also pointed to FIFA’s X account, which said the Iran and Jordan teams cleaned their dressing rooms and left notes and gifts for stadium staff.
Cherki post draws attention
ESPN’s rundown also included an entry on Rayan Cherki, built around a post from the X account Actu Foot. The post, dated July 18, showed Cherki’s name with France, crying and popcorn emojis, and had 21,900 likes in the embed cited by ESPN.
With the 2026 tournament wrapped, ESPN framed the collection as a reminder that World Cup culture now plays out far beyond the pitch, from supporter habits in the stands to a fullback’s follower count taking off overnight.
This story draws on original reporting from ESPN.com.