Getty Image / Jean Catuffe
The German National Football Team (DFB team) came into the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with hopes of winning it all. Instead, the 4-time World Cup Champions (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014) failed to advance out of the Group Stage after finishing 3rd in Group E behind Japan and Spain, just 1 point ahead of Costa Rica.
Surely the managerial tactics or the players were to blame for the German National Team’s shortcomings, right? Nope. not according to German newspaper Bild which placed blame on the Germany WAGs (wives and girlfriends).
In a recent article, Bild blamed the Germany WAGs for not celebrating hard enough or being allergic to dancing. They asked:
“What is actually wrong with our WAGs (wives and girlfriends)? While the celebration women from England and Wales have now drunk half of Qatar, there are only Brummel pictures from the stands of Lady Goretzka and Co. Not thirsty? Dancing leg allergy? Don’t feel like lunging?”
Germany’s national newspaper has an explanation for their teams’ shocking early exit from the World Cup: the players’ wives and girlfriends. Bild, the country’s paper of record, asked “What’s wrong with our Wags?” after Germany was eliminated on Thursday
— Amanda (@Amanda07273228) December 4, 2022
This story blew up. It was picked up by countless newspapers/tabloids in the United States. All of them picked apart the comments about how England’s WAGs were drinking harder than Germany WAGs and how that somehow led to the team’s on-field success.
Without the German newspaper naming names, there were some high-profile WAGs attached to the German National Team. Those names included Brazilian model Izabel Goulart who dates Kevin Trapp and Sara Gundogan who is married to Ilkay Gundogan (who is currently pregnant so it’s absurd to suggest she should be drinking like the English WAGs):
Others include Dani Ter Stegen (Ter Stegen’s wife) and David Raum’s girlfriend Eva Katharina:
The German WAGs are not to blame. Full stop. No explanation is needed.
Given the news coming out of Qatar ahead of the 2022 World Cup I’m surprised any Germany WAGs chose to attend at all. Qatar pulled the plug on selling alcohol during games at the last possible second. The ‘fan village’ accommodations look like shipping containers. Qatar created ‘zones’ where fans could ‘sober up’ if deemed to be drunk in public. This breakdown of the rules everyone must follow is eye-popping.
In defense of the WAGs presence for other national teams… Cristiano Ronaldo’s girlfriend has gone viral for her beach photos in Doha. A Wales fan went viral after being featured on camera.
And model Ivana Knoll has been stealing the show in Qatar. The Croatian model has made more headlines than any ‘WAG’ at the World Cup.