How the least-known players at World Cup are becoming Instagram famous
Obscure World Cup players are gaining unexpected fame on social media as the tournament approaches. Australian defender Kai Trewin has gained over 100,000 Instagram followers due to viral content, while New Zealand's Tim Payne saw his following skyrocket to over 4.6 million. This trend highlights how social media can elevate players' profiles independent of their on-field performances.
- ▪Kai Trewin, a defender for New York City FC, gained over 100,000 new Instagram followers ahead of the World Cup.
- ▪Tim Payne, a New Zealand defender, saw his following increase from 5,000 to more than 4.6 million after a social media challenge.
- ▪The trend of lesser-known players gaining fame on social media is accelerating as the World Cup approaches.
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| Original publisher | New York Post |
| Canonical URL | https://nypost.com/2026/06/03/sports/from-unknown-to-internet-star-nycfc-defender-goes-viral-before-world-cup/ |
| Publication time | Wed, 03 Jun 2026 17:07:40 -0400 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-06-03T21:15:13.812Z |
| Last seen | 2026-06-03T21:17:29.880Z |
| Headline source | Publisher (no WeSearch rewrite) |
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| Summary source text | contentText |
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| Ranking reason | Story pages are not engagement-ranked. Hub feeds use recency, with optional source-diversified chronological ordering (cap consecutive stories per source). No personalized ranking. |
| Publisher visit | Yes — open original |
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| Retrieval / RAG | May the content be exposed for third-party retrieval-augmented generation? | Not asserted |
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| Commercial reuse | May the content be reused commercially? | Not permitted |
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Soccer How the least-known players at World Cup are becoming Instagram famous By Stanley Harrison Published June 3, 2026, 5:07 p.m. ET See more of our coverage in your search results. Add The New York Post on Google New York City FC defender Kai Trewin is the latest player caught in a social-media wave pushing obscure World Cup players into unexpected online fame, and the trend is only accelerating as the tournament approaches. The 25-year-old Australian has racked up more than 100,000 new Instagram followers after soccer meme pages and TikTok influencers repeatedly pushed his name across their platforms, turning a relatively unknown MLS defender into a talking point for millions of football fans who had never seen him play. NYCFC and Australia’s Kai Trewin.
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