{"id":1251,"date":"2026-06-03T15:06:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T15:06:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=1251"},"modified":"2026-06-03T15:06:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T15:06:13","slug":"new-zealand-world-cup-player-finds-social-media-fame-after-being-touted-by-soccer-influencer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=1251","title":{"rendered":"New Zealand World Cup player finds social media fame after being touted by soccer influencer"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>New Zealand defender Tim Payne has become an unlikely soccer superstar after an influencer from Argentina called on his followers to unite and make the little-known 32-year-old Payne a \u201chero\u201d of the upcoming World Cup.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=1249\">Bus driver arrested after boy, 6, fell asleep during ride, was found wandering, cops say<\/a><\/p>\n<p>El Scarso, a soccer influencer also known as Valen Scarsini, identified Payne as the least-known player at the World Cup in Canada, the United States and Mexico based on his small social media following.<\/p>\n<p>Payne had around 4,700 followers on Instagram earlier this week. After being singled out by El Scarso that number has risen at a rate of almost 1,000 per minute to more than a million by Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Payne\u2019s following is now six times greater than New Zealand\u2019s captain and best-known player, Nottingham Forest forward Chris Wood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere 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?\u201d\u00a0Scarsini\u00a0said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI 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\u2019t even have 5,000 followers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Scarsini, who more than 500,000 followers, implored his base to \u201cstart mentioning Tim Payne everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have to start making videos feeding the legend of Tim Payne. If you have the World Cup (sticker) album, upload a photo with his sticker. The goal is to see how many people know Tim Payne before the World Cup starts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=1247\">FHP investigating fatal crash involving SUV and semi on I-75 in Weston<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>A Spanish sing-along<\/h2>\n<p>Now there\u2019s even a song supporting Payne, who recently made his 50th appearance for New Zealand after making his debut at 18.<\/p>\n<p>The chorus, in Spanish, says: \u201cI\u2019ve got his back. I cheer him on. I\u2019ve been rooting for him from the beginning. Tim Payne, from cradle to grave. You\u2019re a crack. I cheer you on, every step.\u201d It continues \u201cno Payne, no gain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Payne responded Friday to his new-found social media fandom.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas wondering why my socials were blowing up and found your post, man,\u201d he said. \u201cAppreciate the love! Gracias, hermano.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just want to say a massive thank you first to you Valen. It\u2019s been a pretty crazy 48 hours to say the least. I just wanted to also express that I\u2019m very grateful to be representing my country and I appreciate all the love from all around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>New Zealand\u00a0is playing at the World Cup for the third time after qualifying in 1982 and 2010. It has yet to win a match.<\/p>\n<p>The national team, known as the All Whites, is in\u00a0Group G\u00a0with Belgium, Iran and Egypt. New Zealand opens the tournament against Iran on June 15 at Los Angeles.<\/p>\n<p>Payne and New Zealand lost against Haiti 4-0 during Tuesday&#8217;s FIFA World Cup&#8217;s first friendly match in Fort Lauderdale. <\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=1245\">Bears QB Caleb Williams brings the chill as \u2018Madden 27\u2032 cover star<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>El Scarso, a soccer influencer also known as Valen Scarsini, identified Payne as the least-known player at the World Cup in Canada, the United States and Mexico\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1250,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[178],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fifa"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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