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This year’s World Cup is turning out to be the social media tournament, with online activity lighting up before, during and after every kickoff in Brazil.
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Tuesday’s match between host (and for many, tournament favorites) Brazil and underdog Mexico illustrated how the Cup has become a social media sweet spot, with huge figures recorded by Facebook related to the game.
Globally, more than 33 million people accounted for more than 68 million of what Facebook calls “interactions” (posts, comments, likes) related to the 0-0 draw between the two Latin-American rivals.
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Surprisingly, after users in Brazil, it was U.S. Facebook users who were most active, ahead of those in Mexico. The passionate Hispanic audience north of the border likely accounted for much of that traffic.
While Brazilian superstar Neymar received the most Facebook buzz, he was followed closely by Mexican goal keeper Guillermo Ochoa.
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A virtual unknown, Ochoa made his World Cup debut on Tuesday and wowed soccer fans around the globe with his amazing performance, keeping a clean sheet and denying Brazil its second win of the tournament. Three of Ochoa’s saves were among the top five most social moments recorded by Facebook surrounding the match.
Twitter: @sroxborough
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