Argentinian TikToker Scarso Turns New Zealand Player into Idol at the World Cup

New Zealander Tim Payne has become a football figure after an influencer from Argentina called on his followers to unite and turn the little-known 32-year-old defender into an 'idol' for the upcoming World Cup. Scarso, a football influencer also known as Valen Scarsini, identified Payne as the least known player in the World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada based on his low number of social media followers. Payne had around 4,700 followers on Instagram at the beginning of the week. After Scarso highlighted him, that number has surged at a rate of nearly 1,000 per minute, surpassing one million by Friday. Payne's follower count is now six times greater than that of Chris Wood, the Nottingham Forest forward who is the captain of the New Zealand national team and by far its most recognized player. 'There are a few days left until the World Cup starts, and we are all waiting to cheer for our team, but what if there was a player who united us all, a footballer that we all support regardless of nationality?' Scarsini said. He searched among all the teams playing in the World Cup for the least known player and, after analyzing them one by one, found Tim Payne in Group G. Scarsini, who has over 500,000 followers, urged his base to 'start mentioning Tim Payne everywhere.' 'We need to start making videos feeding the legend of Tim Payne. If you have the World Cup sticker album, post a photo with his sticker. The goal is to see how many people know Tim Payne before the World Cup starts,' he added. There is now even a support song for Payne, who recently played his 50th match for New Zealand after debuting at 18. The chorus in Spanish goes: 'I cheer for him, I have always followed him. Tim Payne, from the cradle to the grave. You’re a star with great height, I applaud you for every foul, for the crosses, and for the twists.' It continues: 'No Payne, no gain.' Payne responded on Friday to his newly discovered fandom on social media. 'I was wondering why my social media was blowing up and I found your post, brother,' he expressed. 'I appreciate the love! Thank you, brother. 'First, I want to give a huge thank you, especially to you, Valen. It has been a pretty crazy 48 hours, to say the least. I also wanted to express that I am very grateful to represent my country and I value all the love from all over the world,' he added. New Zealand will compete in its third World Cup after qualifying for the tournaments in 1982 and 2010. It has yet to win a match. The team, known as the All Whites, is in Group G alongside Belgium, Iran, and Egypt. New Zealand will debut against Iran on June 15 in Los Angeles.