Intelligence Index: World Cup
What earned global attention during the tournament
Last updated: 12:00pm CT 7/22/2026 sourced from Listening, NewsWhip and Influencer Marketing by Sprout Social. Data available from 5/25/2026.
The moments that took over social media
Trending moments
The moments that captured the most audience engagement on social.
Engagement: 5.2M
Engagement: 9.5M
Engagement: 1.5M
Engagement: 1.9M
Who owned the conversation?
The players, host cities and brands that captured the most global attention.
| Cluster | Label | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Players | Lionel Messi | 8,321,977 |
| Players | Christiano Ronaldo | 4,535,147 |
| Players | Kylian Mbappé | 2,010,875 |
| Host Cities | Miami | 353,691 |
| Host Cities | Los Angeles | 314,325 |
| Host Cities | Boston | 290,473 |
| Brands | YouTube | 357,450 |
| Brands | Nike | 150,957 |
| Brands | Adidas | 146,490 |
Zooming in
While Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo largely drove the overall narrative, Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal, and Erling Haaland emerged as the new global fan favorites. Geographically, Miami, Los Angeles, and Boston led in total conversation volume—with New York City and Miami capturing the highest overall engagement. However, Atlanta stole the spotlight by dominating discussions around culture, hospitality, and standout fan experiences.
How the World Cup stacked up against other global sporting events
How World Cup engagement changed over-time
Social Interest
The big picture
The World Cup captured unprecedented global attention, capping off with record-breaking U.S. viewership for the final. That interest extended onto social, with viral moments featuring cultural exchange, match highlights and player performances. The world paid attention at an unprecedented scale; millions of articles were written and content was engaged with billions of times. The brands that succeeded were able to tap into that energy and experience with social intelligence, meeting the cultural moment unfolding online and in the real world and amplifying it on social.
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How did we get this data?
This data was collected, aggregated and updated from Listening, Influencer Marketing and NewsWhip by Sprout Social via formal API partnerships. While this page represents a breadth of social data and conversations, it’s not completely exhaustive. For additional questions about the data, please contact the Sprout team. Sprout Social is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by FIFA or the FIFA World Cup.