By The Data: Which World Cup Players Are Winning On Instagram, TikTok – Forbes

ARLINGTON, TEXAS – JUNE 17: Jude Bellingham #10 of England celebrates with Harry Kane #9 after scoring the team’s third goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group L match between England and Croatia at Dallas Stadium on June 17, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images) Getty Images The FIFA World Cup is the biggest global sporting event outside of the Olympics for athlete brand growth across social media. Ahead of this week’s semifinal matchups, I received social data around many of the World Cup’s top international stars as well as the U.S. men’s national team players to see which athletes captured fans’ attention from around the world. Among some of the star footballers competing in the semifinals, England midfielder Jude Bellingham, who is still in contention for the Golden Boot with six goals, has seen his Instagram following surge nearly 15% from June 1 to July 13. That’s according to data provided to me by Zoomph, a social audience intelligence and sponsorship analytics firm. Bellingham, 23, has accumulated over six million new followers on the social media platform. Spain’s teenage phenom Lamine Yamal has experienced more than an 8% bump on Instagram (over 3.5 million new
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