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England vs Croatia star is married to gorgeous ex-supermodel WAG who has followers swooning

The wife of a player set to face England when Croatia take on the Three Lions in their opening game of the 2026 World Cup has turned heads over the years

All eyes will be on England vs Croatia on Wednesday evening as the Three Lions get their World Cup campaign underway – yet attention might be diverted away from the pitch and onto the stands if Izabel Kovacic is in attendance.

The Croatian former supermodel is the wife of Manchester City and Croatia star Mateo Kovacic. She began dating the ex-Chelsea ace six years ago. Izabel is known as the founder of the fashion brand Lunilou.

However, she has followed her husband, 32, all around Europe as he turned out for clubs such as Inter Milan and Real Madrid before moving to the Premier League with rivals Chelsea and then City.

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Izabel is famous on Instagram, where she has more than 400,000 followers and shares photos of her business. She co-founded an eco-friendly organic baby products brand in 2015 and also launched her own sustainable luxury fashion line, IZAKOVA.

Kovacic married Izabel in June 2017 in a luxurious ceremony held in the Croatian capital of Zagreb, with the ceremony held at the same church where they met. It was attended by 600 guests, including fellow Croatia international Ivan Perisic.

During Kovacic’s time in Spain, Izabel became a media darling and was frequently seen cheering him on in the crowd. She was even dubbed a “Shakira-lookalike” by the Spanish press for her long, blonde, curly hair.

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The couple have two children together: Ivan, born in 2020, and Luna, born in 2025. After his two-goal heroics in City’s 3-2 thriller against Fulham in 2024, Kovacic dedicated his performance to Izabel.

He said: “It means a lot because my wife is pregnant, so it was great to get some goals for the little one.”

England will face the 2018 World Cup finalists in Dallas, Texas, in what will be a repeat of the 2018 World Cup semi-final, which Croatia won.

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England manager Thomas Tuchel even named the experienced core of Kovacic and Luka Modric in midfield as the ‘heartbeat’ of the Croatian side.

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“I think it’s quite obvious they still have the core midfield, with Mateo and Luka Modric,” Tuchel said. They have experience; they have experience in tournaments.

“They have a very experienced coach. They have traditionally strong national teams, and that’s what we face.”