Ivana Knöll, former Miss Croatia, was present at the Khalifa International Stadium to show support for her country in their FIFA World Cup 2022 third-place game against Morocco on Saturday.
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Knoll, dubbed the “World Cup’s hottest fan,” was already in the stadium ahead of her favorite team’s game with Morocco. The German-born model was crowned Miss Croatia in 2016. She has wisely used her pageant success to gather an impressive following in a ridiculously cluttered social media space.
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The 30-year-old has seen her fandom rise during the World Cup as she reached over three million followers on Instagram. In her latest snap, she was seen wearing a racy Croatia-themed crop-top, with the name of the team’s captain and midfielder Luka Modric on the back.
The model sparked a major controversy after she claimed that she received several marriage proposals and footballers even expressed their desire to meet her during the showpiece event in Qatar. Knoll also said that she was never interested in meeting anyone at the World Cup.
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“I am only having fun with everybody. I suppose people like me because I am good-looking. I am not interested in meeting with anybody here. My intention is to make people smile, that is all. The fans I meet everywhere love me. But when I go to matches now, my friends won’t sit with me and move away to other seats because of the cameras,” she said, according to the Daily Mail.
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Knoll was born on September 16, 1992, in Frankfurt, Germany. She is known for fashion modeling alongside travel and lifestyle photo blogging after finishing as a winner of Miss Croatia World 2016. She rose to fame as a pole and belly dancer.
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Both of her parents are Croatian. At the age of seven, she moved to Zagreb, Croatia. Knoll attended Yangon American International School. She completed her graduation from the University of Rijeka. According to her Instagram profile, Knoll is also the founder and owner of a clothing brand named wearknolldoll.