Mexican fans heading to the World Cup in Russia brought a cardboard cut-out of their friend with them after his wife banned him from attending the tournament.

The group of fans travelled from Mexico to Russia in a minivan and took the replica of their friend, named Javier, with them for the entire journey.

Since arriving in Russia, the cardboard Javier has become a social media sensation with many fans posting photos of themselves with the figure.

Some posted photos of themselves feeding cardboard Javier a beer while video footage showed Javier poking out the window of the mini bus as people waved.

A tweet posted by the Russian Embassy described Javier’s friends as the “real heroes” of the World Cup.

It read: “Fans can be real heroes at #WorldCup, too! These 4 Mexicans came to Russia by minibus (yes, from Mexico to Russia) and brought a cardboard figure of their friend whose wife didn’t let him go.

“Now Cardboard Javier is a worldwide social media star!”

The Mexican football team won their first match of the World Cup on Sunday when they beat defending World Cup champions Germany 1-0.

The shock win lead to huge celebrations from Mexican fans in Russia.