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Tim Payne during a friendly game between Poland and New Zealand on October 9, 2025 in Poland
Credit: Sebastian Frej/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- New Zealand soccer player Tim Payne gained hundreds of thousands of followers within a couple of days after Argentine influencer, Valen Scarsin, encouraged fans to support him
- Scarsini called Payne the 'least known' World Cup player and urged fans to create content celebrating him
- Payne will take part in the 2026 World Cup, which begins June 11
A soccer player described as the “least known” World Cup player is going viral.
New Zealand and Wellington Phoenix defender Tim Payne, 32, gained hundreds of thousands of followers within a couple of days after Argentine influencer Valen Scarsini, known as elscarso, asked his followers to support him, according to the BBC, Stuff and Reuters
"I looked at all the teams that play [in] the World Cup for the least-known player and, after analyzing one by one, I found it," Scarsini said in Spanish on Instagram and TikTok, per the BBC. "Tim Payne is a defender and has a very difficult task: help New Zealand win their first World Cup match. They have never won one.”
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Tim Payne playing for Wellington Phoenix at HBF Park, on October 18, 2025, in Perth, Australia
Credit: Paul Kane/Getty
"What needs to be done to be the hero of the World Cup? First, follow Tim Payne. I'm going to tag him,” he added. "Explode his posts with likes and comments. We need to start naming Tim Payne everywhere."
Scarsini continued, "You have to make videos feeding the legend of Tim Payne. If you have the World Cup album, upload a photo with your sticker."
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Payne went from 4,715 followers before the shoutout, per Reuters, to having 753,000 followers on Instagram, and his total is still growing!
His most recent social media post in March, which celebrated his 50th appearance for the New Zealand team, has amassed a total of 439,000 likes and 59,500 comments.
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Tim Payne playing for Wellington Phoenix at Campbelltown Sports Stadium, on April 24, 2026, in Australia
Credit: Darrian Traynor/Getty
"Was wondering why my socials were blowing up and found your post, man," Payne told Scarsini in a message, per Reuters and the BBC. "Appreciate the love! Gracias, hermano."
Payne is set to take part in the 2026 World Cup with the New Zealand national soccer team.
The tournament will begin June 11 and run through July 19, with the U.S., Canada and Mexico as the host countries.
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