New Zealand's Tim Payne meets the man who made him a celebrity

Payne's Instagram following soared from 4,000 last week to nearly 5 million after Argentinian influencer Valen Scarsini, known as "El Scarso", urged his fans to support the little-known All Whites defender.

The two met for the first time at New Zealand's training camp in Florida on Wednesday, with Payne thanking El Scarso for his backing and presenting him with a signed playing shirt.

"It is obviously beneficial for me and also for New Zealand football," Payne said.

"It brings attention to us which is a good thing, but at the same time, I haven't changed.

"I am still the same person, so I just keep doing what I do, which is play football and concentrate on trying to perform for my country."

Payne's Instagram account now has more followers than any other New Zealand sports account, apart from UFC star Israel Adesanya's 8.2 million following.

He has overtaken cricketer Kane Williamson on 3.3 million and the All Blacks rugby team on 2.8 million.

On the field, things are going less well for the New Zealand team, who lost heavily 4-0 to Haiti in a World Cup warm-up match on Wednesday.

They face England on Sunday in their last friendly before the World Cup begins.

New Zealand are in a World Cup group with Iran, Egypt and Belgium.