Spain won the 2026 World Cup, but Norway's Erling Haaland gained the most Instagram followers during the 39-day tournament: 32.1 million, per Sportico data. Haaland scored seven goals, tied with Jude Bellingham for third, and led Norway to the quarterfinals and their first-ever World Cup knockout victory.

Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha, 40, ranked second with 29.2 million new followers, 14 million arriving in four days after his man-of-the-match performance saving seven shots in a 0-0 draw against Spain. Bellingham added 12 million followers for third place.

Cristiano Ronaldo (11.4 million) and Spain's Lamine Yamal (11 million) completed the top five. Ronaldo remains the most-followed athlete at 677 million, while Messi (7.5 million gained, 514 million total) and Neymar (7.7 million) followed. Mexico's Gilberto Mora (6.6 million), France's Michael Olise (5.7 million), and Brazil's Endrick (5.6 million) rounded out the top 10.