THE ‘world’s hottest football fan’ Ivana Knoll has revealed her heartbreak after England heartthrob Jack Grealish was scrapped from the Euros team.
The newly single Croatian model, 26, stole the limelight at the Qatar World Cup in 2022 and is now in Berlin ready to support her beloved team during the tournament.
She exclusively told The Sun that she would be sad not to see the England midfielder on the pitch this year – but said having Grealish missing from the squad gave Croatia a big advantage.
She joked: “I’m sad England doesn’t have the best team selected but as a Croatia fan I’m happy.
“With Mbappe not playing and all these other big players not playing then we have a bigger chance”.
Ivana won footie fans’ hearts with her red and white checkered outfits in the stands at Qatar – and even risked being arrested due to the conservative country’s strict rules.
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The 5ft9 model was propelled to stardom after gracing stadiums with her showstopper dresses, catsuits and ensembles – donning a different look for each match.
But she revealed to Sun readers that her outfits for the 2024 Euros in Germany will be more daring than ever.
The stunning brunette was tight-lipped about exactly what she’d be wearing for each Croatia clash during the group stages – but described her looks as “different” to anything we’d seen before.
The model and budding DJ said: “I have prepared some outfits that let’s say are a little bit different.
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“I really love fashion and like to look fashionable when I go to the games. It will be fun I cannot wait for you to see”.
Ivana recently revealed that she was single as she prepared to hit the Euros after splitting from her boyfriend.
She confirmed the news to German outlet Bild ahead of the tournament, although she dealt a hammer blow to any men hoping to try their luck.
Knoll said: “I had a boyfriend who I was with for 10 years. We broke up last year. Now I’m single, but I’m not looking for a new man at the moment.”
Despite fierce competition, the Mediterranean beauty has high hopes that Croatia could win the tournament after a successful start to their 2024 campaign.
The side, featuring star midfielder Luka Modric, goes into the Euros off the back of three wins including a victory over Portugal and a draw.
Having finished strongly in tournament football over the last decade, storming through to the semi-final at the 2022 World Cup and coming second at the Russia World Cup – victory could be on the cards.
She said: “Of course I want Croatia to win, and I support Germany as I was born and raised here. I think that France is one of the best teams, I’m sad to say that as we lost to them but they are an incredible team”.
When asked what England players she’ll be watching at the tournament, Ivana said she’d be keeping an eye on England’s top goal scorer Harry Kane.
She added: “I think England has a big chance also.”
WORLD CUP FAME
Speaking about the reaction to her appearances at the Qatar World Cup Ivana told The Sun: “Qatar was a crazy experience, I never thought something could happen like that.
“When things settled down, and I realised what had really happened, it was something that I will never forget.
“Everything was amazing, the success of my country and I did things in Qatar that helped many women after me. I was happy about everything that happened.”
Despite her glam appearance and others questioning her footie knowledge, Ivana says she has always been a die-hard football fan.
She said: “I was at the World Cup in Brazil in 2014 before I was even 18. I wanted to go so badly and I had a fight with my father but I made it.
“The love for the sport has always been with me, I played as a goalkeeper when I was young, for three years. I wasn’t that good but it was fun.
“I was always connected to sports and I’m a big sports fan.”
Ivana says despite her family not being as passionate about football as her, she still attended three previous World Cup tournaments.
Since her Qatar World Cup success, she has been mingling with A-listers such as Jamie Foxx and Drake and even attended a party hosted by Leonardo Dicaprio.
She was recently spotted at the Candian F1 Grand Prix and appeared at other big sporting events such as NBA basketball matches and even boxing at the O2 arena.
She also travels around the globe as a DJ playing to huge crowds, having just flown in from a set in Montreal to be in Berlin ahead of the first match.
Despite her newfound fame, the model says she’ll never start an OnlyFans page after she claimed fans were deploying tactics to get her to sign up.
She revealed that her racy Instagram post had been “reported” and suggested that followers could be behind the pic ban in a bid to get her to move onto the adult content platform.
Taking to Instagram she wrote: “Hey guys, I don’t know if you have noticed, but Instagram is reporting everything that I post.
“Someone is behind who is trying to force me onto OnlyFans but guys let me tell you this, I will never set up an OnlyFans, like f*** off.”
Croatia begin their campaign for glory tonight against Spain in Berlin while Germany thumped Scotland with a 5-1 win in the opening clash of the competition.
England plays their first match on Sunday against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen.
At least 40,000 England fans are expected in the first wave this weekend to support Gareth Southgate’s team.
But it’s feared that a 500-strong army of “violence-seeking Serbian hooligans” could descend on the highly anticipated match.
The opening game for both sides has already been labelled as a “very high risk” match by German cops with 1,300 extra officers being deployed on matchday as well as heavily increased surveillance.
Ivana’s rise to fame
Croatian model Ivana Knoll, 26, stole the limelight at the Qatar World Cup in 2022, after dazzling fans with her daring outfits despite the risk of arrest.
She defied authorities in Qatar, a conservative country with strict rules on how women can dress, to put on a racy display and win the hearts of footie fans around the world.
Draped in the colours of her home country, Ivana made a bold statement in red and white cheques as Croatia stormed to an impressive third position in the tournament.
Football fanatic Ivana had previously attended the Brazil World Cup in 2014 and the Russia World Cup in 2018 – but it was in Qatar that she was propelled to stardom.
Since 2022, Ivana has hit headlines around the world, appearing at lavish events with numerous celebs such as Jamie Foxx, F1-star Fernando Alonso and Drake.
She even attended a party hosted by none other than Leonardo DiCaprio and is now a DJ playing at some of the world’s best venues.
Born to Croatian parents in Frankfurt Germany, the model spent her younger years playing football as a goalkeeper and later handball.
Serbian ultra groups such as Headhunters and Gravediggers are among some of the most feared football fans in Europe.
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In a bid to stem the violence, The Sun reported that England supporters will be banned from drinking strong lager at the first match – and will be offered Germany shandy instead.
England fans had been looking forward to downing the 4.8 per cent strength Bitburger Premium in stadium bars. But the brew will now be replaced by a much weaker alternative.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
