Tuesday, September 8, 2026

World Cup 2018: Who are Winners on Social Media

Brazil, Portugal, and France topped social media rankings at the 2018 World Cup, according to Primetag. Cristiano Ronaldo was the undisputed king of social media throughout the tournament.

LM Salvado
LM Salvado

July 17, 2018

2018 World Cup match between Portugal and Iran. Cristiano Ronaldo. Photo by: Mahdi Zare/Fars News Agency.
France is still rejoicing its second World Cup title but on the social media game, results were a bit different. According to Primetag, a platform that measures influence on social networks, Brazil, Portugal, and France, respectively, topped the social media rankings. The unquestioned king of social media at the world cup was Cristiano Ronaldo. Primetag’s technology has dissected the account activity of all athletes at the World Cup and released the key figures of the competition. Brazil's national team with 193.9 million interactions was followed by Portugal, led by Cristiano Ronaldo, with 120.6 million interactions. The third place was reserved for the official winner, France, with 117.9 million interactions. Regarding players, Cristiano Ronaldo led the way with a grand total of over 110 million interactions, followed by Neymar and Paul Pogba. [caption id="attachment_4751" align="aligncenter" width="1000"]2018 World Cup Social Report. National teams winning on social media. Photo by: Primetag. 2018 World Cup Social Report. National teams winning on social media. Photo by: Primetag.[/caption]

National teams with most interactions on social media

[caption id="attachment_4753" align="aligncenter" width="596"]2018 World Cup Social Report. National teams with the most interactions. Photo by: Primetag. 2018 World Cup Social Report. National teams with the most interactions. Photo by: Primetag.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_4750" align="aligncenter" width="1000"]2018 World Cup Social Report. Players winning on social media. Photo by: Primetag. 2018 World Cup Social Report. Players winning on social media. Photo by: Primetag.[/caption]

Players with most interactions on social media

[caption id="attachment_4754" align="aligncenter" width="614"]2018 World Cup Social Report. Players with most interactions on social media. Photo by: Primetag. 2018 World Cup Social Report. Players with most interactions on social media. Photo by: Primetag.[/caption]

Instagram highlights of the World Cup 2018:

  • 990 million interactions.
  • 287 million video views.
  • 6,366 - the number of images and videos that players have uploaded to Instagram.
  • 88% - the percentage of World Cup players that are active on Instagram.

The most influential eleven on social media

Primetag technology made possible to identify the most influential eleven in the world cup, by counting the number of likes and comments generated by the players. The result is a Social media dream team with the German goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer. The defense is with Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Yerry Mina, and Ramin Rezaeian. Midfielders are Paul Pogba, James Rodriguez, and Philippe Coutinho. Up front, we have Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, and Mbappe. [caption id="attachment_4752" align="aligncenter" width="1000"]2018 World Cup Social Report. Social media dream team. Photo by: Primetag. 2018 World Cup Social Report. Social media dream team. Photo by: Primetag.[/caption]
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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