分类： sports

DALLAS (AP) — An unlikely rise to global fame has earned a little-known New Zealand soccer defender a once-in-a-lifetime career move: 38-year-old Tim Payne, who went from relative obscurity to international social media celebrity in the span of weeks, is set to leave his current club Wellington Phoenix to join Olimpia, the defending Paraguayan top-flight champion and one of South America’s most storied soccer institutions.

The details of the impending transfer were confirmed to The Associated Press on Tuesday by an insider close to the negotiation process, who spoke on condition of anonymity because Olimpia has not yet scheduled an official public announcement of the signing. The source also declined to disclose the financial terms of Payne’s upcoming contract with the club.

Payne’s explosive leap into the global spotlight traces back to a viral social media campaign launched by Argentine influencer El Scarso. The content creator set out to find the most low-profile player at this year’s FIFA World Cup, settling on Payne due to his tiny pre-tournament social media following. El Scarso called on his own followers to band together to turn the little-known New Zealander into a household name, and the campaign quickly caught fire across platforms.

In the weeks following the campaign’s launch, Payne’s Instagram follower count skyrocketed from just under 5,000 to more than 5.8 million, a more than 1,000-fold increase that captured the attention of clubs across the globe. The outpouring of support for Payne has even spawned an original fan song in Spanish, whose chorus declares devotion to the defender: “I’ve got his back. I cheer him on. I’ve been rooting for him from the beginning. Tim Payne, from cradle to grave. You’re a crack. I cheer you on, every step.” The track also leans into a playful pun on Payne’s name, closing with the line “no Payne, no gain.”

Payne got the chance to show his on-pitch skills to his new global fan base earlier this week, starting in New Zealand’s opening Group G match against Iran that ended in a 2-2 draw on Monday. The All Whites, New Zealand’s men’s national soccer team, are still chasing their first ever World Cup win across three tournament appearances.

Two decades have passed since Tim Cahill etched one of the most recognizable celebrations in Australian soccer history into global memory. During the opening match of the 2006 FIFA World Cup against Japan, Cahill scored a dramatic late equalizer to turn the tide of the game, which ultimately ended in a 3-1 Australian victory. Immediately after the ball hit the back of the net, the forward sprinted to the corner of the pitch and launched into a playful shadow boxing routine against the corner flag. What began as an impulsive moment of joy has grown into a beloved generational tradition for Australian soccer at the World Cup.

Months after Cahill hung up his boots in 2019, another Australian star carried the tradition onto one of the sport’s biggest stages. At the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France, during a critical group stage match against Italy, Sam Kerr — then a rising talent making her mark on international soccer — recreated Cahill’s iconic shadow boxing routine to celebrate one of her goals. The moment paid homage to Cahill’s legacy while signaling the continuity of the tradition across Australia’s men’s and women’s national programs.

Kerr would go on to rewrite the Australian soccer record books: in 2022, she surpassed Cahill to become the country’s all-time leading international goalscorer, and she led the national women’s side, the Matildas, to a historic semifinal finish at the 2023 Women’s World Cup co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand. Now, the tradition has passed to a new generation of Australian talent, with 20-year-old Nestory Irankunda adding his own name to the lineage.

On Saturday night, Irankunda made history for Australia’s men’s national team, the Socceroos, during their 2-0 upset win over Turkey. The young winger became the youngest goalscorer in Australian World Cup history, and he marked the milestone by paying direct tribute to the man who inspired his soccer journey from childhood. Just like Cahill 20 years earlier, Irankunda sprinted straight to the nearest corner flag after his goal, throwing a rapid series of punches in a perfect recreation of the iconic celebration that first made the routine famous.

Unlike his predecessors, Irankunda has already cultivated his own unique set of trademark goal celebrations, from acrobatic backflips to playful Michael Jackson-inspired dance moves that have become a defining part of his on-pitch persona. Even so, the young star made clear that Cahill has been the biggest influence on his career to date.

“Tim Cahill was my biggest inspiration in Australian football, and I look up to him,” Irankunda told reporters after the match when asked about his decision to replicate the celebration. “I look up to him and I want to be like him one day and I’m really really proud of myself to get the goal.”

Like many young Australian soccer talents, Irankunda launched his professional career domestically, spending three seasons competing in the A-League with Adelaide United before earning a move to European soccer. In 2025, he completed a permanent transfer to English Championship club Watford, where he is continuing to develop his game ahead of future international and club competitions.

For decades, Iran’s national football squad, popularly known as Team Melli, stood as one of the rare unifying forces cutting across Iran’s deep political, social and generational divides. From the 1998 World Cup upset over the United States that sent entire cities of Iranians at home and abroad into street celebrations to tournament runs that drew cross-spectrum backing from both government supporters and opposition figures, the national side once united Iranians of all backgrounds for 90 minutes of sport.

That historic unity began to fray as political polarization seeped into global football, most dramatically at the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Just weeks before that tournament erupted nationwide protests across Iran following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in morality police custody, sparked by anger over the country’s mandatory hijab laws. When Iran took the pitch against England in their opening group match, players refused to sing the official national anthem in a gesture of solidarity with protesters, but the anthem was still loudly booed by anti-government fans in the stands. For many diaspora Iranians who had previously set political disagreements aside to support the team, this moment permanently changed their relationship with the squad.

In the years that followed that fracturing tournament, Iran has undergone profound upheaval: crippling economic sanctions have gutted household incomes, ongoing political unrest has reshaped daily life, and a February 2024 joint US-Israel strike that killed senior Iranian officials also claimed the lives of 168 schoolchildren and teachers in the southern city of Minab. Ahead of this year’s global tournament preparations, the Iranian Football Federation made a gesture of mourning: dedicating the team’s campaign to the children killed in Minab, requiring players to wear lapel pins marked with the number 168 in official photos, and holding portraits of the victims and children’s schoolbags during pre-match national anthem ceremonies for warm-up friendlies.

When the team scheduled pre-tournament friendlies in the United States, long-standing visa restrictions imposed by the US government on Iranian teams created immediate barriers. Two planned matches in Los Angeles, a city home to more than 700,000 Iranian-Americans and a major hub of anti-Islamic Republic sentiment, were thrown into chaos when US officials forced the team to relocate its training camp to Tijuana, Mexico. Even when the team arrived in Inglewood for a high-profile friendly against New Zealand at SoFi Stadium, political tensions continued to overshadow preparations. FIFA, which controls all stadium access and rules for World Cup-related events, revoked the Iranian Football Federation’s allocated 8 percent of stadium tickets at the last minute, a decision the federation blamed squarely on US political interference. Bans on pre-revolutionary Lion and Sun flags and political protest symbols inside the stadium were also enforced, despite a legal challenge from local community activists that was ultimately dismissed.

Heading into kickoff, few could predict how the crowd would react. Anti-government voices dominated public discourse online and in regional media, and a small protest greeted the team upon its arrival in LA. But inside the 70,000-seat stadium, the energy defied expectations. When the national anthem played, cheers from pro-Team Melli fans easily outnumbered boos. Every attacking move from the Iranian side drew loud, unified encouragement. When New Zealand scored an early opening goal, a hush fell over pro-Iranian sections – but that tension turned to eruption when fullback Ramin Rezaeian slotted home an equalizer in the 32nd minute.

The connection between the squad and the crowd only grew stronger in the second half. After New Zealand retook the lead, supporters launched a steady chant of “Iran, Iran” that lifted the team, and striker Mohammad Mohebi leveled the score once again with a well-placed header off Rezaeian’s cross. Though the match ultimately ended in a 2-2 draw with no late winner for Team Melli, the moment carried enormous symbolic weight. After four years of deep polarization, political upheaval, and global tensions that have split Iranian communities abroad, a spirited, competitive performance on US soil won over the majority of fans in attendance.

For fans like Hossein Alizadeh, a 40-year-old supporter who traveled from Toronto to attend the match, the outcome was more than just a draw. “Team Melli is an institution that belongs to all Iranians, no matter what their political beliefs are,” he said ahead of kickoff. “I want them to do well and bring back that love people used to share for the national team.” The team will get another chance to build on this moment when it faces off against Belgium in southern California on Sunday.

As South Korea’s men’s national football team gears up for a critical Group A World Cup match against host-nation Mexico in Guadalajara on Thursday, the squad’s pre-game preparations have been thrown off balance by a public feud between players and members of South Korea’s domestic press. The conflict erupted after disparaging on-camera remarks targeting team captain Son Heung-min were leaked to the public, sparking widespread outrage and a collective boycott of unofficial media interactions by the South Korean roster.

The controversy traces back to an open training session held on June 7, just days before South Korea kicked off its 2026 World Cup campaign with a tense 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic. During the session, unidentified South Korean media personnel were caught on camera mocking 33-year-old Son for his mandatory military service status, according to footage captured by JTBC, South Korea’s official broadcast rights holder for the tournament. The clip was subsequently leaked to the public, triggering a fierce backlash across South Korean social media platforms.

Unlike most able-bodied South Korean men, Son secured an exemption from the country’s required 21-month mandatory military service after helping South Korea claim a gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games. In line with regulatory requirements, the Tottenham Hotspur turned Los Angeles FC forward has since completed all mandated alternative service obligations, including a three-week basic military training course in 2020 and required community service work.

In a formal statement released on Monday, the Korea Football Association (KFA) acknowledged the damage caused by the incident, saying it regretted “the inappropriate remarks made by some media personnel during the national football team’s training at the Guadalajara base camp.” The governing body added that the comments have left “great shock and disappointment” rippling through the entire national team squad. The KFA also committed to taking action to prevent similar incidents moving forward, noting that it “will continue to prioritize the protection of the squad and strive to create a healthy media environment.”

Local South Korean media reports indicate that in response to the incident, all South Korean national team players have refused to engage with domestic reporters outside of pre-scheduled, mandatory official World Cup media commitments. Multiple pre-arranged one-on-one and group interviews with players have already been canceled amid the standoff. The KFA did not provide an immediate additional comment when contacted by the Associated Press for further details on the boycott and ongoing dispute.

On the pitch, Son’s performance in South Korea’s opening win against the Czech Republic drew mixed attention, as the star forward missed multiple scoring chances despite the team’s eventual 2-1 result, with goals from Hwang In-beom and Oh Hyeon-gyu securing all three points in Guadalajara. All eyes will now be on Son and the unsettled South Korean squad as they take the pitch against Mexico on Thursday evening local time for their second Group A match, with the controversy off the field adding an extra layer of tension to a critical World Cup fixture.