Top players trending on Twitter: A special PR Buzz report
Last week we looked at what was making headlines off the field of play at the 2022 World Cup. This time, the Media Insights Group (MIG) at Agility wanted to see which players have created the most buzz on Twitter in the second week of the tournament. Claiming the top three spots for most mentions are:
- Lionel Messi (Argentina)
- Kylian Mbappé (France)
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
Following their lead:
- Olivier Giroud (France)
- Marcus Rashford (England)
- Robert Lewandowski (Poland)
- Christrain Pulisic (United States)
- Richarlison (Brazil)
- Cody Gakpo (Netherlands)
- Bukayo Saka (England)
The Twitter commentary
What was driving the conversations on Twitter around these three players?
Messi
Top hashtags used in tweets that mention Messi.
Messi led Argentina in a 2-1 win over Australia in the Round of 16, scoring a goal and receiving player of the game. The conversation on Twitter was focused on his performance on the field of play and the burden of expectations on his shoulders to capture a World Cup for Argentina. Mentions were primarily positive.
👑 Player of the Match in his 1,000th game.
👏 Lionel Messi.#Qatar2022 | #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/IWqlF4ZtF2
— GiveMeSport (@GiveMeSport) December 3, 2022
Mbappé
Top hashtags used in tweets that mention Mbappé.
Mbappé scored two out of France’s three goals in the 3-1 win over Poland in the Round of 16. His goals—five in total over the tournament—have created quite a buzz on Twitter, especially since the 23-year-old player looks poised to capture the 2022 Golden Boot. Mentions are primarily positive.
The Golden Boot
The Golden Boot is awarded to the top goal scorer of the World Cup. In 1958, another French player, Just Fontaine, set the current record for most goals scored in a single World Cup with 13. Mbappé only needs eight more goals to tie the record—will he succeed?
Kylian Mbappe has officially passed Pele for most World Cup goals scored by a men’s player before the age of 24 years old! 🙌
8 goals by the way… 👀😲#ITVFootball | #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/c3sV6EhGh5
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) December 4, 2022
Ronaldo
Top hashtags used in tweets that mention Ronaldo.
Twitter conversations commented on both Ronaldo’s tensions with Portugal’s coach, Fernando Santos, after being taken off the pitch against South Korea, and his reported offer to join the Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassar in 2023. Relative to the other top three players, Ronaldo received a higher level of criticism and negative sentiment on Twitter for his play and his actions.
Portugal coach Fernando Santos admitted to being unimpressed with Cristiano Ronaldo’s behaviour after the forward reacted angrily when substituted during the team’s final group game at #Qatar2022.
Read more ▶️ https://t.co/jeqc9zeiDE#SABCSportFootball | #Sisonke
— SABC Sport (@SABC_Sport) December 5, 2022
Methodology: Twitter mentions analyzed were from November 29 to December 5. Mentions are the number of tweets posted on a particular subject.
