The Soccer World Cup (W Cup), held once every four years, has finally begun. On Chinese SNS, the appearance of 'LABUBU,' a popular character created by Pop Mart, a leading trend toy company in China, at the opening ceremony also became a hot topic.

This time, the 2026 North American tournament will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and LABUBU appeared at the opening ceremony held on the 11th at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico. In response to this, Chinese netizens commented, 'The Chinese team is out!' and 'LABUBU represented China in the tournament.' Related topics also included 'China's starting lineup is LABUBU and Ma Ning.'

The Chinese national team is not participating in this tournament, and Ma Ning refers to Chinese referee Ma Ning. In posts that featured this topic, comments such as 'LABUBU stepped onto the World Cup stage before the Chinese national team' and 'China participated in a way' were received.