The 2026 World Cup players who accidentally became meme royalty

The 2026 World Cup has produced some of the loudest screamers from 20 metres. Questionable refereeing decisions. And national heartbreak. The global soccer event has also become the internet’s favourite content factory.

Every tournament creates unlikely stars, but some players become famous for something even more valuable in 2026: meme status.

From unfortunate facial expressions to fans collectively deciding a superstar secretly runs world football, these players have discovered that once the internet adopts you, there’s no escaping.

Erling Haaland: The accidental Majin Buu 

The Norwegian goal machine spent years terrifying defenders. Then the internet looked at him and collectively said, “You know who he reminds me of? Majin Buu.”

Suddenly social media was flooded with edits placing the striker’s trademark blond ponytail on the pink Dragon Ball Z villain. Fan art, AI videos, Photoshop masterpieces. You name it, someone made it.

The comparison has been floating around since 2021, but the 2026 World Cup sent it into overdrive. Every goal, every close-up and every intense stare generated another wave of pink memes.

Teboho Mokoena’s potty mouth

Bafana Bafana star Teboho Mokoena’s F-bomb slip was a “did he just say what I think he did?” moment.

His potty mouth made an appearance during a live post-match interview. Understandably, Teboho’s response was warranted. 

Visibly emotional, the defensive midfielder was interviewed by reporters after Canada beat Bafana Bafana 1-0 during the Round of 32, ultimately kicking SA out of the 2026 World Cup. 

“It was very tough, eish! The way we conceded that goal. Even me, I felt f*ck.” Once he realised his blunder, Teboho immediately covered his mouth.

Kylian Mbappé: Football’s ‘dictator’

No player dominates meme culture quite like Kylian Mbappé.

Across TikTok, Instagram and X, fans began portraying the French superstar as a military ruler, giving orders to managers, teammates, referees and apparently world soccer itself.

The joke? Online fans exaggerated the long-running perception that Mbappé has enormous influence wherever he plays. AI-generated videos, mock propaganda posters and over-the-top edits transformed him into “Supreme Leader Mbappé”.

It’s completely fictional. Wildly exaggerated. Exactly the kind of absurd humour the internet loves. Ironically, the more people discussed the meme, the bigger it became. A textbook case of the internet refusing to let a joke die.

The loudspeaker nobody asked for 

Not every World Cup meme needs a soccer player.

One of the tournament’s surprise viral moments came from Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio explaining a VAR decision over the stadium loudspeakers during Mexico’s chaotic 2-0 win over South Africa.

The intention was transparency. The result? Social media immediately turned every announcement into comedy gold, complete with dramatic pauses, awkward delivery and endless parody videos.

Fans joked it sounded like airline announcements, school assemblies and game show hosts all rolled into one. Proof that soccer doesn’t need goals to entertain the internet anymore.

The players with priceless reactions 

The World Cup has always specialised in creating reaction images that live forever. 

One second you’re chasing a loose ball; the next your confused face is being used worldwide to describe Monday mornings, awkward family dinners or forgetting your password for the fifth time.

This year’s TikTok compilations celebrate those wonderfully unplanned moments. Players staring into space, looking baffled by a referee’s decision, pulling expressions that deserve their own emoji pack.

Soccer lasts 90 minutes. The meme lasts forever.

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