IShowSpeed wears Vietnamese conical hat to cheer Ronaldo at World Cup opener

The fan, Ngo Truong Dinh from Da Nang, gave the hat to IShowSpeed during Portugal's 1-1 draw with the Democratic Republic of the Congo at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, on June 17.

Speed, a lifelong Ronaldo devotee, put it on immediately and showed it to his audience, telling viewers it had come from Vietnam. The moment drew the attention of more than 9 million people following his stream and spread across social media within hours.

Reaching Speed was no accident. Dinh, who flew to the U.S. on June 12, spent more than VND7 million ($270) before the trip to commission seven conical hats painted with the likenesses of stars such as Messi, Neymar, Bruno, Casemiro and Ronaldo, hoping to put Vietnamese culture in front of a global audience.

The Ronaldo hat was made specifically for Speed. The hats were the work of Da Nang painter Nguyen Quang Trung, a longtime acquaintance Dinh has commissioned before.

To sit close enough to hand the gift over in person, Dinh paid $2,500 for a premium seat.

"I wasn't sure he would show up or even notice the gift. It seems luck was on my side," Dinh said, adding that he was proud to see a piece of Vietnamese culture embraced by one of the world's most-followed creators.

It was not their first encounter. Dinh has followed Ronaldo for years and has trailed major tournaments around the world, meeting Speed at the 2022 World Cup and again at Euro 2024, where he sat nearby and showed the streamer a similar hat. Speed was mildly amused then but did not react the way he did this time.

Dinh said he made the trip in part because it may be the last World Cup for both Ronaldo and Messi, and he wanted to watch his idols one more time.

He plans to give Speed a second hat, this one showing the streamer standing beside Ronaldo, at Portugal's next match against Uzbekistan on June 24 if he can reach him again.

He handed another to a Portugal supporter and intends to give the rest away to fans in the coming days. He will watch six matches before flying home July 3.

The match itself delivered a shock. DR Congo, back at the World Cup for the first time in 52 years, came from behind to draw 1-1, claiming the country's first-ever point at the tournament and denying Ronaldo a winning start to his record sixth World Cup.

IShowSpeed, whose real name is Darren Watkins Jr., has more than 50 million YouTube subscribers and has built much of his fame on exaggerated devotion to Ronaldo. His track "World Cup (Champions)" was selected for FIFA's official 2026 album.

Speed's enthusiasm aside, the tournament has been a harder sell than organizers hoped. High ticket prices and the Trump administration's tighter visa rules have been blamed for thinner-than-expected international crowds.

FIFA had projected 1.2 million fans would come to New York City, but the Hotel Association of New York City now expects only about half a million, its CEO Vijay Dandapani told Reuters.

Flight bookings from Europe into most U.S. host cities for June and July are down 3.8% on average year-over-year, and bookings into New York, which hosts the July 19 final, have fallen 15.8%, according to airline analytics firm Cirium.

A survey by the American Hotel and Lodging Association found that nearly 80% of hotels across the 11 U.S. host cities reported bookings below forecast, pushing many to cut rates. The New York Hilton Midtown, the city's largest hotel, has halved its tournament rate to $415 a night, while the New York hotel association has cut its World Cup room-revenue forecast by 60% to about $60 million.

Dinh felt the squeeze too. He put the total cost of his trip at VND200-300 million ($7,600-11,400) for flights, lodging and tickets, and said match tickets ran roughly three times higher than at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

For the price, he got a viral moment and a bit of Vietnamese pride on the biggest stage in sport.