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.

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.

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.

By this point, the idea that Essie was somehow "cursing" every team she endorsed had become a recurring joke among her followers and others who began taking notice of the phenomenon.

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.

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.

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.

Following Norway's quarter-final loss to England on July 11th, 2026, shortly after Essie publicly declared her support for the team, fans increasingly joked that the "Essie Curse" was real.

The meme escalated over the next several days as Essie posted herself standing on a beach looking out toward the ocean while wearing a France jersey before France's semifinal defeat to Spain.

The phenomenon again continued the next day when she posted a GIF of her avatar wearing an England jersey ahead of England's semifinal loss to Argentina.

england….. england please…… please england….. pic.twitter.com/h7JGISchrO

— essie 🐑🌾 (@essie_ch) July 15, 2026

After the final elimination during the semi-finals, she jokingly lamented the result, posted that she would not wear another jersey for the World Cup final and declared she was "putting them down."

How Did Essie's 'World Cup Curse' End?

As the meme went viral during the final stages of the 2026 World Cup, some users took the joke too far by sending Essie harassment through email, Discord and other methods.

On July 15th, she shared screenshots of abusive messages, removed her email address from her X profile after receiving spam and announced that she would stop posting about the World Cup for the remainder of the tournament due to safety concerns.

Despite the negative end to the humorous event, Essie thanked her fans for the memes, fan art and support she had received throughout the tournament, concluding that she would only do a watch party for the last two games.

However, according to many, the curse didn't end there.

On July 18th, around halftime in the third-place match between France and England, Essie tweeted a simple one-word post, writing, "France…" France subsequently lost its game 4-6, with many concluding that she had cursed them again with the tweet.

Later that same day, Hololive VTuber Takanashi Kiara announced a collab watchalong stream with Essie for the finale of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, including a graphic of Essie next to the Argentinian flag and Kiara next to Spain's flag in the announcement tweet, which Essie retweeted.

In the replies, many users claimed that Essie being placed next to Argentina's flag in the image was her "choosing" them, with Argentina then losing the final match against Spain the following day, thus continuing the curse all the way through the final game.

What Are Some More 'Essie World Cup Curse' Memes?

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.

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.

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For the full history of the Essie World Cup Curse meme, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry.