Cristiano Ronaldo beats Lionel Messi on Twitter heading into the FIFA World Cup

India, 16th May 2018: The 2018 FIFA World Cup is almost here and football fans around the world have come to Twitter to follow the news, join the worldwide conversation, and watch intense global rivalries unfold.

Twitter data

While the anticipation builds for the tournament to begin next month, #WorldCup conversation on Twitter doesn’t stop there. From exciting action on the pitch, to countrywide anticipation, and even the disappointment of missing out on qualifying, the conversation is happening on Twitter.

These are the most mentioned athletes in World Cup related Tweets since December 2017:

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano)

2. Lionel Messi

3. Mohamed Salah (@MoSalah)

4. Philippe Coutinho

5. Paul Pogba (@paulpogba)

6. Alexis Sanchez (@Alexis_Sanchez)

7. Romelu Lukaku (@RomeluLukaku9)

8. Kylian Mbappe (@KMbappe)

9. Gianluigi Buffon (@gianluigibuffon)

10. Andres Iniesta (@andresiniesta8)

These are the most talked teams on Twitter since the World Cup Draw:

1. Japan (@JFA)

2. United States (@ussoccer)

3. Argentina (@Argentina)

4. Mexico (@miseleccionmx; @miseleccionmxEN)

5. France (@equipedefrance; @FrenchTeam)

6. Germany (@DFB_Team_EN; @DFB_Team)

7. Brazil (@CBF_Futebol)

8. Spain (@SeFutbol)

9. Peru (@SeleccionPeru)

10. Chile (@LaRoja)

Twitter also looked into which countries were Tweeting the most heading into the event. These countries have sent the most World Cup related Tweets since December:

1. Japan

2. Saudi Arabia

3. Brazil

4. France

5. United States

6. Argentina

7. Mexico

8. United Kingdom

9. Korea

10. Spain

These are the top Tweeted days of #WorldCup conversation since the Draw:

1. December 1, 2017: the Draw (#WorldCupDraw)

2. December 2, 2017: Day after the Draw

April 30, 2018: BTS (@BTS_twt) announced as @CocaCola sponsor for FIFA World Cup