Fact check: A Hitler lookalike at Germany's World Cup match?

On the pitch, the focus in Germany during Sunday's FIFA World Cup match was on the national team's convincing 7–1 victory over Curaçao.

Off the pitch, however, many social media users were fixated on something entirely different: an image of a fan inside the stadium wearing a German shirt, holding a German flag, and bearing a resemblance to Adolf Hitler .

The image was shared across several platforms, amassing millions of views.

This post on X , for example, has garnered more than 3 million views, while this one on Instagram has attracted over 460,000 likes.

The claim also spread in several languages, including Spanish on Facebook and Russian on Threads .

Some posts also contained undertones of anti-German sentiment, such as a Reddit post that sarcastically read: "It's always awesome to see the fans truly show up to support their team!"

The alleged image of the Hitler look-alike appears to be a screenshot from the television broadcast of the match, complete with a timestamp corresponding to stoppage time in the first half.

This was shortly after Kai Havertz had scored a penalty to make it 3-1 for Germany . The fans were happy and celebrating.