How the World Cup’s least-known players are going viral

Nypost · 🇺🇸 public United States · Jun 03, 2026 · 288 words · By Stanley Harrison

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What to know about How the World Cup’s least-known players are going viral

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.

Claims checked 5

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center80%

Right20%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Why it matters

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…

Common ground

New Zealand defender Tim Payne saw his following explode from around 5,000 to more than 4.6 million after South American influencer Valen Scarsini — known online as “El Scarso” — launched a challenge urging followers to find and boost the least-followed…

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: How the World Cup’s least-known players are going viral?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that 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?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/06/03/sports/from-unknown-to-internet-star-nycfc-defende…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 5 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 3

verified Verified By Reference 1

info Single Source 1

verified

Claim 1: “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”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and official club information confirm Kai Trewin is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a central defender for New York City FC.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Kai Clifton Trewin (; born 18 May 2001) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a central defender for Major League Soccer club New York City FC and the Australia national team.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kai_Trewin

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — New York City Football Club (often referred to as NYCFC) is an American professional soccer club based in New York City. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Confe…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_FC

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2025–26 season is Melbourne City Football Club's 15th season in the A-League Men; 11th since the club was taken over by the City Football Group. In addition to the domestic league, Melbourne City …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025–26_Melbourne_City_FC_seas…

+ 4 more evidence sources

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Claim 2: “New Zealand defender Tim Payne saw his following explode from around 5,000 to more than 4.6 million”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent news sources (Miami Herald, The Guardian) report that New Zealand defender Tim Payne's Instagram following exploded from around 5,000 to millions due to an influencer's push.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Lukas Eric Kelly-Heald (born 18 March 2005) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or left-back for Wellington Phoenix. His twin brother Alby Kelly-Heald, a goalkeeper, pl…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lukas_Kelly-Heald

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Northern League, known as the Dettol Northern League for sponsorship reasons, is an amateur New Zealand association football competition. It is a top-tier competition during the winter season, an…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_League_(New_Zealand)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Timothy John Payne (born 10 January 1994) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a defender for A-League Men club Wellington Phoenix and the New Zealand national team. He will join Divi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Payne_(footballer)

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 3: “South American influencer Valen Scarsini — known online as “El Scarso” — launched a challenge urging followers to find and boost the least-followed player heading to the tournament”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources (FOX 13 Seattle, ESPN) identify Valen Scarsini as the influencer who launched the challenge to boost the least-followed World Cup player, specifically targeting Tim Payne.

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web search NEUTRAL — Scarsini reportedly selected Payne after looking for the least-known player at the World Cup based on social media following. The idea was simple: take a player who had a small online audience and tur…
https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/how-new-zealand-soccer-pla…

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web search NEUTRAL — Tim Payne’s social media following has skyrocketed after an Argentinian influencer started a campaign to make him a ‘hero’ before the 2026 World Cup starts.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/may/29/tim-payne-n…

+ 1 more evidence source

info

Claim 4: “The 25-year-old Australian has racked up more than 100,000 new Instagram followers”

SINGLE SOURCE

While Wikipedia confirms Kai Trewin is Australian and born May 18, 2001 (making him 24-25 depending on the exact date), there is no independent corroboration in the provided evidence for the specific claim that he gained over 100,000 new Instagram followers.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2024–25 A-League Men, known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, was the 48th season of national level men's soccer in Australia, and the 20th since the establishment of the competit…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024–25_A-League_Men

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 FIFA World Cup is an ongoing international football tournament being held in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, from June 11 to July 19, 2026. The 48 national teams involved in the tourna…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_FIFA_World_Cup_squads

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 5: “Payne’s surge eventually saw him overtake the official All Blacks rugby team Instagram account”

CORROBORATED

Web search results from Deccan Herald and other sources state that Tim Payne's follower count grew to over a million more than the official All Blacks rugby team account.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mabel Earlene "Madea" Simmons is a character created and portrayed by Tyler Perry. She is presented as a tough, street-smart elderly African-American woman. Madea is based on Perry's mother and his a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madea

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Tim Bergling (8 September 1989 – 20 April 2018), known professionally as Avicii, was a Swedish DJ, remixer, and record producer. His musical style was primarily pop-oriented house music, and he is an …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avicii

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — George Newbern (born December 30, 1964) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Charlie in the ABC show Scandal (2012–2018) and Bryan MacKenzie in Father of the Bride (1991) and its sequels …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Newbern

+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.