World Cup 2026 · Updated
World Cup 2026: The Instagram Accounts Surging Right Now
The short answer
Leandro Paredes, the association football player, is the Instagram account surging most in public attention right now — drawing 433,282 Wikipedia pageviews on July 20, 2026, about 22× its usual daily traffic, and holding 13.8M Instagram followers (@leoparedes20) as measured by Lurk's live follow-graph on July 21, 2026. Marc Cucurella and Pau Cubarsí follow on this ranking of the fastest-rising public Instagram accounts.
The 2026 World Cup is minting overnight global names, and public attention is spiking in real time. Lurk's trend engine flags the players surging fastest in search and encyclopedia traffic, then reports each one's verified public Instagram handle and live follower count. The table below ranks them with exact, sourced figures.
Instagram accounts surging fastest — 2026 World Cup
| # | Player | Country | Before | After | Followers gained |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leandro Paredes★ | Association football player · @leoparedes20 | — | 13.8M | — |
| 2 | Marc Cucurella | Association football player · @cucurella3 | 3.6M | 3.6M | ±0 |
| 3 | Pau Cubarsí | Association football player · @paucubarsi | 6.6M | 6.6M | ±0 |
| 4 | Lisandro Martínez | Association football player · @lisandromartinezzz | — | 162 | — |
| 5 | Enzo Fernández | Association football player · @enzojfernandez | 13.5M | 13.5M | ±0 |
| 6 | Lamine Yamal | Association football player · @lamineyamal | 44.9M | 44.9M | ±0 |
| 7 | Lionel Messi | Association football player · @leomessi | 511.2M | 511.2M | ±0 |
How we compiled this
Candidates were detected from two public attention signals: the Wikimedia Pageviews API (each entity's July 20, 2026 article views compared against its own trailing 28-day average to compute a spike z-score) and the Google Trends realtime feed for the United States. Each candidate was resolved on Wikidata and kept only if it has a verified public Instagram username (property P2003), which proves the account exists. Follower counts are the live public figures returned by Lurk's own follow-graph API for each verified handle, measured on July 21, 2026. Where a "before" number is shown, it is an earlier follower reading Lurk recorded for that same account (measured window shown in the notes); where only one reading exists, the change is left as "—" rather than estimated. Follower counts move fast during a viral surge, so figures reflect the moment of measurement and are rounded to the precision shown. Only public, newsworthy data is used — no private-account data.
Cite this
“World Cup 2026: The Instagram Accounts Surging Right Now”, Lurk Trend Desk, July 21, 2026. Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with attribution to getlurk.app.
Sources
- Wikimedia Pageviews API — daily top articles and per-article trends (en.wikipedia)
- Google Trends — realtime trending searches (United States)
- Wikidata — Instagram username property (P2003)
- Yahoo — El argentino Lisandro Martínez salió cojeando de la final del Mundial, un duro golpe para el Manchester United por su grave lesión
Frequently asked questions
Which Instagram account is surging the most in public attention right now?
Leandro Paredes (@leoparedes20), a association football player, is surging the most — drawing 433,282 Wikipedia pageviews on July 20, 2026, about 22× its usual daily traffic. Lurk measured 13.8M Instagram followers on the account on July 21, 2026.
How many Instagram followers does Leandro Paredes have?
Lurk's live follow-graph measured @leoparedes20 at 13,802,201 followers on July 21, 2026. Follower counts change constantly during a viral surge, so the exact number moves minute to minute.
How does Lurk detect trending Instagram accounts?
Lurk watches public attention signals — Wikimedia pageview spikes and Google Trends search surges — then confirms each rising name has a verified public Instagram handle on Wikidata before reporting its live follower count. No private data is used.
How can I see who these accounts recently followed on Instagram?
You can track any public Instagram account's following list with Lurk, which shows who an account recently followed — anonymously and without logging in. It reads only public data, so the account owner is never notified.
Related
- The Lurk Instagram Follow Index — live aggregate data
- All Lurk trend reports
- Best apps to see who someone recently followed
See who anyone really follows on Instagram
Lurk tracks public Instagram accounts and shows who they recently followed — anonymously, with no login.
Try Lurk free