FIFA World Cup 2018: Facebook records 2.3 billion interactions globally

A look at how FIFA World Cup 2018 was talked about on social platforms Facebook and Instagram.

Mexico’s Raúl Jiménez’s photo of his team after beating 2014 World Cup champions, Germany was the most loved post on Facebook. (Facebook)

The FIFA World Cup 2018 which France won on July 15, had seen heavyweights like Germany, Spain, Argentina and Portugal crash out of the tournament earlier than expected.

Much of the excitement was seen online with Facebook recording 2.3 billion interactions globally on World Cup 2018. Facebook-owned Instagram also witnessed 3 billion interactions with over 272 million people posting about World Cup 2018.

Facebook

India ranked fourth for the most number of people talking about World Cup 2018 on Facebook. The most discussed teams during the tournament were Brazil, Argentina, France, and Russia. Among players, Lionel Messi, Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo and Philippe Coutinho were the most talked about on Faceboook.

Some moments that stood out were Mexico's Raúl Jiménez who shared a photo of his team after beating 2014 World Cup champions, Germany. This was the most loved post on Facebook. Spain's former goalkeeper Iker Casillas' live video received the most number of views.

Facebook recorded 2.3 billion interactions globally on World Cup 2018. (Facebook)

Facebook recorded 2.3 billion interactions globally on World Cup 2018. (Facebook)

Posts that received the most interactions by users were Leo Messi updating his profile picture, Cristiano Ronaldo encouraging his team before the World Cup started, and James Rodriguez sharing his heartbreak after Columbia's exit.

The final match between France and Croatia received highest spike in conversations. Some of the moments that stood out were France emerging as winners, the first goal in the match and Paul Pogba scoring the third goal for France.

Instagram

On Instagram, 11 million stories were posted about this year's World Cup. In India, the most talked about players on Instagram were Leo Messi, Neymar, Luka Modric, Kylian Mbappe, and Mohammed Salah. Teams that received most buzz on Instagram were France, Argentina, Portugal, England and Brazil.

The most used hashtags this World Cup in India were #football, #messi, #fifa18, #worldcup and #fifaworldcup. Instagram also saw some locations from where posts were shared the most. These include Kolkata, Alcon Splendour, Mumbai, and Underpass in Defence Colony.