Ivana Knöll rose to world fame during the World Cup in Qatar.
Ivana Knöll is easily recognizable by her red and white checked tops. Stock photo. PDO
Made headlines during the World Cup in Qatar Ivana Knoll was there to witness Croatia’s final defeat in the Nations League final against Spain.
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The final was played in Rotterdam, Holland. Knöll has followed the Croatian national team diligently and is very popular among fans for group photos.
Popularity also has its flip side. Before the semi-final against the Netherlands on Wednesday, the woman got into a nasty incident when two fans disturbed her in the middle of an interview.
– The fan came close to me and started insulting and touching me. My boyfriend was also there and he went to the fan, after which the police came, Knöll told the Croatian To Vecernji.
The boyfriend and the police finally subdued the fan despite her resistance.
Croatia beat the Netherlands, but in the final, Knöll did not bring his country the luck it needed, as the team lost to Spain on penalties. Spain’s decisive point was made Dani Carvajalwho chipped the ball past the Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic by.
With the final victory, Spain claimed a place in next year’s European Championships, while Croatia will have to continue chasing a place in September.
Knöll rose to world fame at the World Championships in November-December. The model became famous after wearing skimpy outfits with Croatia’s classic check pattern in conservative Qatar. Knöll was also dressed in checkered patterns in the Nations League final.
Knöll, who even made it to the finals in the Miss Croatia pageant, gained a huge number of followers on social media during the World Championships. Knöll has 3.3 million followers on Instagram, most of which came during or after the World Cup.