SARASOTA, Florida -- The 2026 FIFA World Cup has a new star in New Zealand defender Tim Payne, and it has a viral campaign from Argentine social media personality "El Scarso" to thank for it.
On Tuesday, Argentine content creator Valen Scarsini, who goes by the handle of "El Scarso," posted a video in which he identified Payne as the "least known" player at the coming World Cup based on Instagram following and encouraged his followers to unite and bump up his social media presence.
"There are only a few days left before the World Cup starts, and we are all waiting to cheer for our national team, but what if there was a player who united us all, a footballer we all support regardless of their nationality?" Scarsini asked in his video.
"I searched through all the national teams playing in the World Cup for the least known one, and after analyzing them one by one, I found him. In Group G, in New Zealand, there is Tim Payne. He really is the least known. He doesn't even have 5,000 followers!"
Needless to say, the results have been rapid. Possessing fewer than 5,000 followers on Instagram at the time of the influencer's shoutout, Payne's following was approaching 1.5 million followers at the time of publication, more than 15 times the number of followers of the New Zealand national team, close to 10 times the followers of his club side Wellington, and more than the entire following of the A-League Men competition in which he plays for Wellington Phoenix. His following has even surpassed that of "El Scarso" himself, who has 461,000.
Scarsini is known for helping less-followed players and clubs go viral (he once helped FC Balzers, a fifth-division club from Liechtenstein who had 15 likes on a Christmas Instagram post, go from the "team with the fewest fans in the world" to 440,000 followers in a matter of days.)
Payne is his latest hit. Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood was previously the most well-known Kiwi international, but his 162,000 Instagram following has been handily put in the shade, too.
Payne's last post on the platform, a collaboration with the All Whites made on April 2 to mark his 50th international appearance, has since been buffeted with comments from brand new, lifelong fans, with Mexican content creator Mercedes Roa commenting "no Payn, no gain," and fellow Mexican influencer Bastián Delfín declaring: "You were my idol since I was born in Veracruz, Mexico."
The 32-year-old wasn't the most prolific of posters before his sudden brush with international fame, and much of his past 48 hours were spent in transit as New Zealand heads to Tampa for a pre-World Cup training camp in which they will play friendlies against Haiti and England. But amid it all, he did find the time to message Scarsini.
"Was wondering why my socials were blowing up and found your post, man, appreciate the love! Gracias, hermano," Payne wrote in a DM shared by Scarsini.
Both the Phoenix and the A-Leagues official accounts, however, have been quick to try to get in on the action, with the league's official account making four posts on the veteran within eight hours -- somewhat stealing the limelight from the Phoenix's rivals Auckland FC, who won the title last week -- while the Phoenix posted a highlight reel and a bemused response to the sudden surge in Latin American interaction.
If they stick around, Payne's newfound following will be able to watch him in all three of the All Whites' group games at the World Cup, as he is expected to hold off a push from Callan Elliot to start at right back.
Drawn in Group G and basing themselves out of San Diego for the World Cup, Darren Bazeley's side will open their tournament against Iran on June 15 in Los Angeles, before facing Egypt in Vancouver on June 21 and Belgium, also in Vancouver, on June 26.
And if they get through to the knockout stages, Payne's social media profile could grow even bigger.