Sunday, September 20, 2026

Russia 2018 First Round Group Stage: Who's Winning on Social Media

Russia World Cup players gained over 15 million followers with 152 million interactions in the first week, according to Primetag. Portuguese, Spanish and other teams led social media engagement.

LM Salvado
LM Salvado

June 20, 2018

Vladimir Putin gave the start to the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour at the Luzhniki Stadium. Photo by: Kremlin.ru.
The 32 national teams playing in the Russia World Cup have generated millions of new followers for both players and teams. According to Primetag, a platform that measures influence on social networks, Russia World Cup players gained over 15 million followers and had over 152 million interactions, during the first week alone. Among the winning teams on Social Media, the Portuguese, Spanish, and the Brazilian had the most likes and comments. Iceland, was this week surprise, with a 228% followers increase. Portugal, Spain, Brazil, France, and Germany, respectively, are the countries with the players that have generated the highest level of social media interaction since the beginning of the tournament.

Ranking of players per interaction (likes + comments) in content published from June 14

NamePublicationsInteractions
Cristiano Ronaldo632,942,511
Neymar36,284,537
Paul Pogba65,475,711
Lionel Messi14,786,519
Mesut Özil43,207,666
Marcelo83,153,391
Isco Alarcón42,953,104
James Rodríguez22,658,925
Luis Suárez52,498,474

Data by Primetag

Countries whose players have gained the most followers to date

CountryNew FollowersFollowers
Brazil3,420,671199,040,827
Portugal1,434,233147,918,240
Argentina1,429,352142,552,421
Morocco1,388,9589,915,288
Mexico1,346,68019,974,203
Spain1,048,768135,159,331
Egypt972,91539,649,455
Germany912,99688,546,701
Iceland1,048,7681,437,691
France685,87780,626,443

Data by Primetag

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LM Salvado
LM Salvado

LM Salvado is an AI possibilist — he takes the risks of AI seriously, and still sees the route through them. Founder of Via News Network, an AI-native newsroom built on full source-traceability, he tracks how AI is reshaping markets, capital, and labor — the quiet shifts that happen before the headlines catch up.

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