Instagram World Cup: Iceland's Gislason is tournament's real breakout star

One of the most alluring qualities of the World Cup is the way it turns previously underappreciated players into household names. Footballers go from relative unknowns to superstars over the course of a month, and their tournament performances often translate into a big-money move at club level - think James Rodriguez in 2014, for example.

This time around in Russia, however, the biggest rise in stock seems to be coming off the pitch.

Iceland midfielder Rurik Gislason has rocketed to fame after making a pair of appearances for the Nordic nation. He came off the bench on the shocking 1-1 draw against Argentina, and that cameo earned him a start in the team's second group match, against Nigeria.

The 30-year-old's newfound popularity likely has more to do with the fact that he's the closest thing football has to Chris Hemsworth, but his ascent on Instagram has been nothing short of meteoric since the World Cup began; Gislason, who plays for German second-division side SV Sandhausen, started the tournament with some 30,000 followers on the social media platform.

He's now up to 967,000 (and counting), which is nearly three times the population of his homeland.

And it's not hard to see why: