Hottest World Cup fan Ivana Knoll bids farewell to tournament after amassing 3.2M social media followers
AL RAYYAN, QATAR: Ivana Knoll, who has been called the "hottest fan' and 'sexiest cheerleader," of the FIFA World Cup is saying goodbye to the tournament after Croatia beat Morocco in the losers' final and finished third. Currently, the Instagram celebrity has 3.1 million followers, up from 200,000 a day during her time in Qatar. The Croatian model caused a stir throughout the tournament for wearing many skimpy outfits, breaking Qatar's strict rules requiring the wearing of conservative women's clothing.
"The number of people who like me around the world is almost the same as the population of my country. The World Cup was amazing and I am sad it’s almost over," she told Daily Mail, as she made her way to the stage for Morocco-Croatia match on Saturday, December 17. "As regards to my Instagram account, I could never have dreamt this could happen to me," she added. "I came here with 570,000 followers, now I have 3.2 million and that does make me smile. It is almost the same number as the population of my country," added Ivana. She took to Instagram to celebrate her win while posting a half-naked picture of her in a desert in Doha.
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The new-found fans swarmed around her for selfies and hugs in the World Cup stadiums. Additionally, Ivana has received messages from some of the football stars themselves as well as marriage proposals from fans. Ivana, 26, who was sporting a blue Croatian soccer jersey, shorts, and blue thigh-high hold-ups, added: "I am very proud of my team. "We are such a small country but with huge successes. At the last World Cup we were finalists and 2nd and now we are in top four teams in the world and playing today for the bronze."
she added: "And they have the most famous fan. I am excited about my future and happy that I also have fans all around the world as well as in Croatia.’ Ivana, who divides her time between Miami and Zagreb, has made headlines in her own country and was welcomed to events by FIFA after appearing on stadium screens during games. She had to forgo her skimpy attire and show up in a red over-the-knee evening dress on Friday since Qatar had invited her to a banquet.
She said that she had been concerned about not meeting Qatar's stringent dress code and had experienced harassment and trolling online. But she added: ‘I am only having fun. People find me attractive and I don’t see anything wrong with that!’