Cup cameo propels ‘cute’ midfielder to viral fame

GELENDZHIK, Russia: A blonde Iceland midfielder has become a social media sensation, attracting more admirers than the population of Iceland after a cameo role in the 1-1 World Cup draw with Argentina.

Rurik Gislason came on as a second-half substitute on Saturday to win admirers worldwide purring over his cool Nordic looks. Before the 30-year-old was introduced to help hold Lionel Messi and co. at bay, his Instagram account had a respectable 30,000 followers.

By end-Saturday Gislason’s following on the social media website had grown to 250,000, topping a half million by Tuesday, well over the 330,000-strong population of Iceland.

“How is it possible to be this cute?” a popular Brazilian actress Gabriela Lopes wondered to her Instagram fans. On Twitter the hashtag #sexyrurik has been trending, with many of the posts originating from South America. An Argentinian travel agency shared his picture after the game to advertise trips to the Nordic island.