One of the unexpected stars of the has been defender Tim Payne, whose Instagram following has soared from 5,000 to over five million over the past three weeks.
Payne became an overnight sensation thanks to an Argentine football influencer, who branded him as the "least-known player at the World Cup", simply based on his then small social media following.
It was not an entirely accurate description of the veteran defender, who has been part of the All Whites team since 2012 and has played more than 50 times for his country.
Nonetheless, the efforts of Valen Scarsini, who is known online as El Scarso, have made Payne a global sensation, a situation he appears to be taking in his stride.
"I'm still processing it and coming to terms with it," Payne told FIFA. "The main thing about it is that it's come from a really positive place and it's really cool. I appreciate Valen for that."
"It's been nice and positive with all the attention that has come my way but I'm still the same person. I'm still a hard-working Kiwi trying to represent our country on the world stage and that's never going to change."
The 32-year-old remains unsure if his massive social media following could prove positive for him commercially. "I'm still processing it and seeing what it looks like in the long term," he said.
"My main focus is this tournament and trying to put on a performance for New Zealand. My family has found it quite funny and my partner has been able to translate all the Spanish jokes in there. It's come from a good place and my parents are very 'unsocial media' so they are trying to understand it too."
Payne showed the watching world his skills on the field as he helped New Zealand in their World Cup opener in Los Angeles.
"The atmosphere of the stadium was fantastic," he said. "I think we're a little bit disappointed about being up twice in the game and ending up drawing it but we'll take the learnings and go from there."
Sources: FIFA Official
