The world’s biggest sporting event is underway in North America as 48 teams battle it out for the FIFA World Cup . With millions of people watching, a few players have stuck out and become fan favourites — and more importantly, internet favourites.
So, in honour of FIFA fever, we’ve created a list of some of the stars the internet is keeping its eyes on during games.
International heartthrob Zidane Iqbal is more than just a part of the Iraqi wonder-team that took the country into the World Cup after 44 years, he’s also the only Pakistani on the pitch.
We know you’re confused, let us explain. Iqbal was born in England to a Pakistani dad and an Iraqi mum. He is eligible to play for any of the three countries and chose to play for Iraq — we love him anyway, he’s one of us.
Six foot five and built like a Viking, Erling Haaland may only be described on the pitch as “a force to be reckoned with”.
Clips of the Norwegian giant chasing down an Iraqi player on the pitch went viral, with the fear in his opponent’s eyes clearly visible.
The Man City striker scored two goals in that game, taking his tally to four and putting him in second place for most goals scored in the tournament so far — right behind Messi.
The most talked about team off the pitch also has the most talked about goalkeeper of the tournament.
Fans are convinced Alireza Beiranvand can block just about anything he puts his mind to, including the Strait of Hormuz if necessary.
He’s also part of a team that’s been doing rounds on social media looking just a little too good, but we’ll get you more on that another time.
Okay, we’ll admit we haven’t seen any of the Kiwis’ football games, but Tim Payne has become an internet legend after getting a 10,000 per cent boost in his Instagram followers over three weeks.
Payne used to be the “tournament’s least followed player” with 5,000 followers. He now has 5,000,000.
Still, he told FIFA he hadn’t changed from the viral fame and that he was still a “hard-working Kiwi trying to represent our country on the world stage”.
What players are you watching this season? Leave your answers in the comments.
