The 2026 FIFA World Cup, the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), and the ongoing feud between Linus “Blord” Williams and Martins “VeryDarkMan” Otse were among the top Google search topics for Nigerians in the first half of 2026.
New data from Google Trends, released on Friday, shows what got Nigerians talking between January and July. The topics included sports, global issues, entertainment, politics, and online culture.
Google ranked these topics based on peak monthly search interest in Nigeria during the period. This means the data shows which topics had the biggest jumps in interest, not just the most searched terms overall.
World Cup Takes the Lead
Google reports that no other story attracted as much attention as the 2026 FIFA World Cup happening in North America.
Nigerians were keen on everything related to the tournament, from how the Super Eagles were performing to the players and the countries involved. They also looked for information about the entertainment linked to the event, like Burna Boy and Shakira’s performance at the opening ceremony.
Norwegian player Erling Haaland caught the eye of many Nigerians in July. Teams like France and Morocco also had fans searching for their performances.
Football has always been a big deal for Nigerians, and this year was no different. In January, there was a spike in searches for the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. "Nigeria vs Morocco" was a hot search as fans followed the Super Eagles' semi-final match against the host nation.
Sadly, Nigeria lost in the penalty shootout. Searches for the AFCON final also drew a lot of attention as Senegal ultimately claimed the title.
Google’s data also showed that Nigerians were interested in the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in February, with some searches focused on ice hockey.
Blord and VeryDarkMan Drama
The clash between Blord and VeryDarkMan stood out among the trending topics linked to personalities.
Google noted that interest in this feud lasted for months and grew as new developments surfaced. Some searches for "Who is Blord" indicated that new users were just finding out about the situation.
Blord and VeryDarkMan have been involved in a public disagreement that sparked many conversations and controversies on social media.
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