Spain won the 2026 World Cup, but Erling Haaland emerged as the tournament’s biggest Instagram gainer. The Norway striker added 32.1 million followers during the 39-day event, according to data posted by Sportico.
Haaland scored seven goals in the tournament, tying Jude Bellingham for third in scoring and finishing one behind Lionel Messi and two behind Golden Boot winner Kylian Mbappé. Haaland helped Norway reach the quarterfinals and contributed to the nation’s first-ever World Cup knockout victory.
No. 2 on Sportico’s list was an unexpected figure: 40-year-old Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha. Vozinha saved seven shots and earned man of the match honors in a 0-0 group-stage draw with Spain, and gained 29.2 million followers overall, including 14 million in the four days after facing Spain, Sportico reported.
Sportico placed Bellingham third with 12 million new followers. Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo (11.4 million) and Spain’s Lamine Yamal (11 million) rounded out the top five. Sportico also noted that Ronaldo remains the most followed athlete on Instagram at 677 million, while Messi has 514 million followers.
Two players who may have been appearing in their final World Cups were also among the list: Brazil’s Neymar added 7.7 million followers and Messi gained 7.5 million, Sportico reported. The rest of Sportico’s top 10 included Mexico midfielder Gilberto Mora (6.6 million), France’s Michael Olise (5.7 million) and Brazil winger Endrick (5.6 million).
