Every major sporting event seems to produce at least one unlikely superstition, and the 2026 FIFA World Cup is no exception
During the tournament’s knockout stage, independent VTuber Essie unexpectedly became the center of a running joke after every team she publicly supported was eliminated in succession
As her streak of bad predictions continued, fans jokingly treated her endorsements like a curse, encouraging her to either support or avoid certain countries depending on who they wanted to win
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Here’s how the “Essie World Cup Curse” became one of the tournament’s biggest memes and viral moments in recent weeks
Where Did The ‘Essie World Cup Curse’ Come From?
Before the World Cup, Essie was primarily known as an independent English-language VTuber based in the United States
Streaming on Twitch and YouTube, she built an audience through gaming streams, chatting, artwork and her laid-back “sleepy sheep” persona, Estelle, usually shortened to Essie
The meme began during the knockout round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in early July 2026. As the knockout stage got underway, Essie started posting on X / Twitter, expressing support for various national teams before their matches
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On July 5th, Essie publicly backed Brazil ahead of its match against Norway. Brazil subsequently lost and was eliminated from the tournament
Later that same day, she jokingly shifted her support to Mexico, writing that her “friendship” with Brazil had ended. Mexico also lost, prompting fans to notice the growing pattern
How Did The ‘Essie World Cup Curse’ Evolve?
The following day, July 6th, 2026, Essie then declared her support for Portugal before its match against Spain. Just like before, Portugal was subsequently eliminated in a close game
Later on July 6th, she announced that she would be supporting the U.S., her home country, which also lost its round of 16 match against Belgium
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Essie World Cup Curse Usage In Memes
As Essie’s streak continued throughout the knockout stage of the 2026 World Cup, the joke quickly spread beyond her own community to X / Twitter, Reddit, Instagram and other social media platforms
Rather than treating her predictions seriously, users began following her account to see which team she would support next, joking that the endorsement guaranteed elimination
One of the meme’s defining moments came on July 7th, when Essie posted that she wanted Egypt to win but worried she might “curse” the team
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After Argentina completed a stunning comeback victory later that day, users humorously blamed Essie for transferring the curse to Egypt instead
The meme soon spread to Reddit, where fans compiled her growing list of unsuccessful predictions and shared articles documenting the phenomenon
As more teams were eliminated, the “curse” became one of the World Cup’s recurring community jokes, with some news outlets and sites also beginning to report of the humorous theory
Essie also embraced the meme herself. Later on July 7th, she jokingly asked whether she was still allowed to support Colombia, prompting thousands of replies warning her not to
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After Switzerland subsequently eliminated Colombia, fans declared that the curse had claimed yet another victim, further cementing the running gag for the remainder of the tournament
What Are Some More ‘Essie World Cup Curse’ Memes?
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What Are Some Related Memes?
The 2026 FIFA World Cup inspired numerous memes beyond highlights from the matches themselves, with many fans creating recurring jokes that evolved alongside the tournament
Like the Essie World Cup Curse, several of these memes turned the knockout bracket into an ongoing social media game that changed after each match
Hatsune Miku World Cup Custody Battle
The “Hatsune Miku World Cup Custody Battle” is a fan art trend and social media game in which each World Cup match determines which country has temporary “custody” of the virtual singer Hatsune Miku
After every knockout match, artists redesign Miku to match the victorious nation’s colors, clothing and cultural motifs until that team is eliminated
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Like the Essie World Cup Curse, the meme transformed the tournament into an evolving community joke that encouraged fans to follow every match for reasons beyond the competition itself
For the full history of the Essie World Cup Curse meme, be sure to check out Know Your Meme’s encyclopedia entry
