The 2026 World Cup is upon us – and the England squad’s wives and girlfriends might just make it the most glamorous one to date.
Managed by Thomas Tuchel for the summer tournament in North America, the Three Lions will be cheered on by their other halves, with models and influencers galore among them.
Many are also childhood sweethearts of our footie stars, having supported them from their school days to the high-flying careers they have now.
There’s no denying that the WAGs always capture attention and raise eyebrows at the World Cup – it’s hard to believe it’s been 20 years since the Baden-Baden resort was taken over by party girls Victoria Beckham, Cheryl, and Coleen Rooney, to name a few.
WAG culture looks a little different two decades later, but the time Fabio Capello had to ‘ban’ partners from visiting their men during training due to such raucous past escapades will never be forgotten.
As Abbey Clancy, Alex Curran, Elen Rivas, Louise Owen, and more descended on the sleepy German spa town, they brought chaos with them in a period later compared to a ‘circus’ by Rio Ferdinand.
Sitting atop the WAG hierarchy, Posh Spice is believed to have taken 30 pairs of jeans and 60 pairs of sunglasses with her, while Rivas got stuck in Stansted for several hours after attempting to take five suitcases.
Basically, the WAGs had their own World Cup going on, far away from the pitch.
Expensive shopping sprees involved splashing the WAG cash at luxury boutiques – it was reported that some had spent £57,000 in one hour in designer stores – before heading back to their £1k-per-night hotel, where Curran (the partner of Steven Gerrard) was billed for 60 bottles of £75 pink champagne, and Rivas (Frank Lampard’s then-partner) spent an extra £2,607.
Their hedonistic antics saw the 22-strong WAG clan branded ‘hooligans with visas’ by Spanish newspaper ABC, having spent most nights on karaoke at Garibaldi’s, knocking back wine and peach bellinis, and clambering up on chairs in their stilettos to dance until 3am.
It was a moment in pop culture history, that’s for sure, and one I have vivid memories of despite being too young to understand just how intense the press fascination was or why these cool women in their hotpants and oversized sunnies had become such a phenomenon.
Splashed across the tabloids and even blamed for England’s crash-out during the quarterfinals, the wives’ and girlfriends’ names were on everyone’s lips.
Honestly, in comparison? You could argue the demure WAG lifestyle is boring these days – even though plenty have admitted they’re happy for it to be that way and to remain on the sidelines.
Still, their drunk table boogies and sky-high room service bills live on in our memories because, well, for me at least, when World Cup season rolls around, it’s not the trophies or scores that spring to mind first – it’s the iconic WAGs who raised me.
Let’s meet the girls flying out to support the squad this time…
Harry Kane
Captain Harry Kane, 32, confirmed his relationship with Katie Goodland in 2025, having known her since childhood.
‘We went to school together, so she’s seen my whole career. Of course, she’s finding it a little crazy. I think she’s even been in the papers a couple of times, taking the dogs out,’ he told Esquire at the time.
He popped the question on a beach getaway two years later, and they married in June 2019, with Kane sweetly calling her his ‘best friend’.
Goodland is a sports science graduate and fitness instructor, and she has four children with Kane; their first, Ivy, was born in 2017. Completing the brood are Vivienne, Louis, and Henry.
Bukayo Saka
Popular right winger Bukayo Saka, 24, is loved up with Tolami Benson.
In November, The Sun revealed that Saka had proposed to his girlfriend of five years during a romantic date night at a swanky London hotel.
A source said he had gone ‘all out for the proposal’ and the ring he’d chosen was ‘absolutely enormous’.
‘It was incredibly special,’ added the insider, saying Benson was ‘totally blown away’.
Benson attended Birmingham University, where she studied public relations and media. Now, she works as a senior planning executive in the capital.
Declan Rice
Declan Rice‘s adorable relationship with Lauren Fryer has, sadly, faced its share of rough patches due to online trolling.
The Arsenal defensive midfielder, 27, has been with Fryer for almost a decade, having started dating in high school while growing up in Kingston-upon-Thames, meaning she’s been there from the beginning to cheer on his rise to success.
But in 2023, Fryer deactivated her Instagram account after facing cruel body-shaming and abusive comments.
Standing up for the ‘love of [his] life’, Rice, who has a son, Jude, with his other half, made it clear that he doesn’t want to be with ‘someone better’.
‘My wife is the love of my life, and there is no one better for me,’ he declared, earning high praise from many fans.
Jude Bellingham
Jude Bellingham’s stunning girlfriend, Ashlyn Castro, has a whopping 648k Instagram followers, where she often posts snapshots of her trips to sunny climates and gorgeous outfit photoshoots.
She hails from Los Angeles and has been with the 22-year-old footballer since 2024.
The Real Madrid star introduced her to his parents in early 2025 last year, with the model and his mum, Denise, and dad, Mark, spotted in his box at Bernabeu stadium.
Castro, 28, has long been brushing shoulders with the rich and famous, having been linked to Michael B Jordan and dated basketballer Terance Mann.
When speaking about Bellingham, she’s described him as ‘the most thoughtful, kind-hearted, hard-working, incredible human [she’s] ever met’.
Jordan Pickford
Jordan Pickford and Megan Davison are childhood sweethearts, having met at secondary school and married in March 2020.
They’re also proud parents to a son, Arlo, born in 2019, and two daughters – Ostara, born in 2023, and Misty, in 2025.
Goalkeeper Pickford, 32, tied the knot with influencer Davison, 30, in a gorgeous Maldives beach ceremony, after which she shared snaps on Instagram and called it ‘the most magical day’ with her ‘soulmate’.
In January this year, they celebrated their 15th anniversary, with Davison writing in a caption alongside a picture montage of their relationship: ’15 years with my soulmate 🤍🧚 @jpickford1 so many chapters, growing with you has been my favourite 🥰🤍’
Her other half commented: ‘The best years with you 🤍’
As well as snaps from her travels and glam events, Davison often shares snaps from the couple’s home life on social media.
She travels the world to support his career and moved to Liverpool in 2017 when he transferred to Everton.
Marcus Rashford
Marcus Rashford rekindled his romance with Lucia Loi last year, two years after splitting.
They were engaged, with Rashford, who had been with Loi since they were 15, proposing in 2022.
It was then reported in June 2023 that their relationship had ‘run its course’, prompting Loi to black out her social media.
But after reuniting, the teen sweethearts (seemingly a common theme among the England squad) were seen spending plenty of time together in Spain after Rashford, 28, moved to Barcelona on loan from Manchester United.
It’s believed she has been ‘helping him settle’ while he focuses on playing.
Dean Henderson
Dean Henderson is married to Millie, saying ‘I do’ at Rome’s Villa Miani hotel in Italy in 2022, with none other than Lewis Capaldi there to serenade them.
Crystal Palace goalie Henderson, 29, and his off-pitch partner tend to keep their romance private, but they have a two-year-old son and their daughter was born last December.
While much of their relationship is offline, Millie was a rock to Henderson through personal tragedy, having lost his dad, Dougie, in summer 2024.
Just months earlier, his pal, George Baldock, died at 31. He and Henderson played together at Sheffield United.
In the aftermath, Henderson returned to play for England, four years after his debut, and had his whole family flown out to Helsinki for the occasion.
He said at the time: ‘I wanted my mum, Yvonne, and my missus, Millie, to come out. So we were trying to do last-minute flights to get them here.
‘I had to go all out and get them on a charter plane. But I did it because I knew that it was such a big thing for the family. My brother also came and my missus’ father, so it was nice.’
Jordan Henderson
Jordan Henderson, 35, has been married to Rebecca Burnett since 2017.
She keeps a low profile when she’s not pitchside, but it’s believed they met as teens while Henderson was at Sunderland.
Together they have two daughters, Alexa, born in 2014, and Alba, born in 2015, and a son, born in February 2020. When Burnett was giving birth to Alba, Henderson raced back to be by her side before driving back to Wembley to play in a cup semi-final.
John Stones
Manchester City ace John Stones, 31, wed fiancée Olivia Naylor, 37, a former beautician and entrepreneur from Manchester, last year.
She and Stones announced their engagement in August 2024, with the centre back proposing during a getaway after England were defeated by Spain in the Euros final
‘Mrs Stones to be,’ she wrote on Insta at the time, with a source telling The Sun that the private couple, who welcomed a baby boy in 2023, were ‘absolutely thrilled’ to be getting hitched.
They held an intimate ceremony in Ibiza, followed by a poolside party.
Stones began dating Naylor in 2019 following his split from long-term partner Millie Savage, whom he met when he was 12 and shares a daughter. Naylor also has a child from a past relationship.
Eberechi Eze
Attacking midfielder Eberechi Eze, 27, is happily married to Izuthe Mulatto, having met when they were 15 years old in southeast London.
They’ve been together for over six years now, first making their relationship public online in 2019.
Since then, they’ve become more reserved, and Mulatto has deleted her social accounts to maintain some privacy. She’s also a nurse, having graduated from King’s College London with a degree.
Eze occasionally offers a glimpse into their home life, though, whether it be envy-inducing pics of their mansion or cute selfies from holidays.
Their blowout wedding celebrations were also featured in British Vogue following a church service and then a traditional Nigerian wedding.
Ollie Watkins
Ollie Watkins, 30, and Ellie Alderson tied the knot in May 2025 after seven years together and following a dreamy proposal on the shores of Lake Como, surrounded by flowers and candles.
She is a twin, with her sister, Sofia, writing after the wedding: ‘The most special day ever watching my best friend and twin sister marry her love.’
Born in Berkshire, Alderson has a diploma in interior design. She and Watkins live in Birmingham with their young children: four-year-old Amara and three-year-old Marley.
Watkins’ other half is often seen at his games, including in the stands during the 2024 Euros.
Anthony Gordon
Anthony Gordon is engaged to Annie Keating.
The 25-year-old Newcastle United star has been steadily supported by Keating throughout his footie career, having known her since they were kids.
Keating, a make-up artist from Liverpool, is very private and seldom posts about their personal lives online, while Gordon’s career takes centre stage.
She does make public appearances with him, though, and in November 2023, they welcomed a baby boy.
Reece James
Chelsea defender Reece James has been dating glam law graduate and model Mia McClenaghan for six years.
Despite the 26-year-old, who plays as a right-back for Chelsea, boasting over three million followers and his girlfriend also posting her stunning snaps, their romance is pretty private.
McClenaghan, who is one year younger than James, keeps her Insta profile private.
We do know, though, that she graduated from London’s Royal Holloway University in 2021; she’s thought to have previously worked at HMP Coldingley in Surrey, offering her legal expertise.
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