Who will win the war of the WAGs? England’s rising stars have brought a whole new team of gossip-worthy wives and girlfriends to the World Cup... with a few old rivals thrown in

£5m Vogue cover girl: Jourdan Dunn, 23

Worth at least £5 million in her own right, the supermodel, who dreams of being a Bond girl, started dating Liverpool star Daniel Sturridge last summer.

She has featured on the cover of Vogue, starred in Beyonce videos and was recently named as a face of Maybelline cosmetics.

However, there are rumours the relationship is already on the rocks.

She has a son, Riley, from a previous relationship, and has said that her career is far too demanding for her to travel to Brazil.

Worth at least £5million in her own right, supermodel Jourdan Dunn dreams of being a Bond girl and started dating Liverpool star Daniel Sturridge last summer

The next Victoria Beckham: LAUREN NEAL, 25

Former hairdresser Lauren has two young children with Arsenal boyfriend Jack Wilshere, 22.

The romance was on-off, with Wilshere accused of sleeping with a lap dancer.

However, now fully reconciled, they live in a smart Hertfordshire apartment, close to both their families.

Glamorous Lauren, who has a reputation for being ambitious, is said to have aspirations to be the next Victoria Beckham.

Some say she’s going to Brazil to keep an eye on her man — which seems wise, since he was recently spotted deep in conversation with a blonde outside a nightclub.

Former hairdresser Lauren Neal, 25, has two young children with Arsenal boyfriend Jack Wilshere, 22

Mrs Rooney and the battle of the Queen Bees: ALEX GERRARD, 31, AND COLEEN ROONEY, 28

It seems nail-technician-turned-model Alex (far left), is disappointed that England skipper Steven has decided she shouldn’t accompany him for the first few games lest she proves a distraction.

Apparently, she’s peeved that her friend and rival Coleen Rooney is going to Brazil before her. Glamourpuss Alex is insistent that as Steven is England captain, she should have been Queen Bee.

The mum-of-three is putting on a brave face in public, though, and says: ‘It’s hard because Lilly and Lexie will be in school.

'There could be seven-hour flights between some of the games. It wouldn’t be fair to drag them around.’

Coleen, meanwhile, who is flying out with sons Kai, four, and Klay, one, on Monday, tweeted the below picture yesterday, saying: ‘6 years ago today I became Mrs Rooney! Through all the good times & some bad . .. We are stronger than ever.’

Alex Gerrard (right) is said to be peeved that friend Colleen Rooney (left) is flying to Brazil before her

On Monday, Coleen Rooney, who is flying out to Brazil to watch husband Wayne, tweeted this picture saying: '6 years ago today I became Mrs Rooney! Through all the good times & some bad...We are stronger than ever'

The middle-class one: EMILY LALLANA, 25

Emily has a son Arthur, 18 months, with husband Adam Lallana of Southampton, one of England’s most exciting new young stars.

The pair were due to marry today, but their plans were brought forward when he realised he was a contender for the World Cup squad.

Instead they had a £500 ceremony at Poole register office on Christmas Eve.

Emily, a pretty blonde, is Lallana’s childhood sweetheart, and comes from a nice middle-class family.

She and Adam live in Ringwood, Hampshire, in a colossal £2 million house which recently had a £40,000 football pitch constructed in the garden, much to the dismay of their well-to-do neighbours.

Emily Jubb has a son Arthur, 18 months, with husband Adam Lallana of Southampton, one of England's most exciting new young stars

Not forgetting the bosses' WAGs: SHEILA HODGSON, 66

No scarlet catsuit for Sheila, who is the total opposite of former top WAG Nancy Dell’Olio, partner of Sven Goran Eriksson.

Sheila, an elegant but unshowy blonde from Liverpool, has steadfastly supported husband Roy, 66, throughout his career here and abroad.

Today, they live in a penthouse in Twickenham and have one grown-up son.

When they met, he tried to convince her he was Italian, as a joke, but she didn’t believe him. Her calm temperament will be a balm for his nerves.

Roy Hodgson and Sheila Hodgson at the 2012 Pride of Britain Awards in London

NOVELLA BENINI, 43

The girlfriend of Italian coach Cesare Prandelli is a banker’s daughter and was known as one of the most eligible women in Florence.

Pirandelli, 56, was recovering from the death of Manuela, his wife of 25 years, when he met Benini, who has a son from a previous relationship.

She plays on her iPad at matches and wears a nose stud.

Novella Benini, 43, is the girlfriend of Italian coach Cesare Prandelli

The baby wag: FAYE AYERS, 20

The youngest of the crowd, Faye was crowned Miss Liverpool in 2012.

A model since the age of 16, she has previously appeared in the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks.

Has dated Ross Barkley of Everton for the past two years.

The youngest of the crowd, Faye Ayers was crowned Miss Liverpool in 2012 and has been dating Ross Barkley for two years

... And every woman's guide to being an expert on tonight's big match

What’s all the fuss about?

England play Italy tonight in the first of their three games in Group D. The other teams are Uruguay and Costa Rica. The top two teams go through to the knockout stage.

So do we have to win?

It would help but a draw is no disaster. We could still go on, even if we lost, as long as we won the next two games.

Will we have to hide behind the sofa for penalties?

No. Shoot-outs take place only in the knockout phase. So England will be spared that agony. For now.

I’ve heard of Wayne Rooney, but who ELSE can help us win?

Pundits feel England can prosper if Roy Hodgson gives his many new, younger players a chance to run amok, unlocking the opposing defences.

Unfortunately, Italy’s defence is traditionally double-bolted from the inside.

Opposition strikers seem to be ushered out of the Italian penalty area: ‘Move along, there’s nothing for you here.’

Any other secret weapons?

England have employed psychiatrist Dr Steve Peters to calm their frazzled nerves. Peters teaches top sportsmen to overcome their ‘inner chimp’ — the voice of doubt. And in some particularly dim cases, their outer chimp as well.

PSST! DID YOU KNOW?

Italy have God on their side in the shape of team priest Don Massimiliano Gabricci, plus a  jazz pianist to soothe them with cool tunes.

On a serious note, who has the best tattoos?

Some of the Italians are extravagantly tattooed, including Antonio Cassano, Claudio Marchisio and Mario Balotelli. But our young players are now inking it like Beckham, as the Mail reported this week.

Everton midfielder Ross Barkley, 20, has an armful, including a quote from Aristotle, skulls and roses.

Liverpool winger Raheem Sterling, 19, grew up on a Wembley council estate and sports a tattoo of the stadium and the local Tube station sign, as well as a ‘thank you’ to his mum.

Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere, 22, has a of mass designs, mainly relating to his family — including ‘mater and pater’. When it comes down to the battle of the body art, England are tattoo-nil winners.

What excuses can I trot out to any Italians if we lose?

The weather: Manaus is a sweltering, steamy Amazonian jungle hellhole.

Tonight’s game will be starting with temperatures around the 30c (86f) mark, which is certainly hot.

Even worse, the humidity can reach as high as 80 per cent.

As a result, the players will lose up to five per cent of their body weight in each half.

During the half-time break, they will wear ice-vests, cooling the torso but, crucially, not the leg muscles.

Giant turbine fans in the dressing room exhale cold water vapour.

Excuse credibility score: 7/10

The pitch: World Cup matches should be played on immaculate grass worthy of the Centre Court at Wimbledon.

But the pitch in Manaus is a patchy, uneven, brown-streaked disgrace that would have Sunday league players turning up their noses.

There was a bizarre twist to the story yesterday when it was claimed organisers have tried to cover up the dry grass areas by painting the brown patches green.

The World Cup’s head groundsman admits: ‘Frankly it’s in bad shape.’ But then, it is in bad shape for both sides.

Excuse credibility score: 5/10

Italy Are Better Than Us: In the Fifa world rankings, Italy are rated 9th in the world, one place ahead of us. But they’re also older and that means slower (we hope).

Excuse credibility score: 6/10

THE ONES TO WATCH:

The Wildest man in football:
Italy’s most notorious footballer may not make the starting line-up tonight, his place taken by the new sensation Ciro Immobile. But only a fool would bet against Mario Balotelli, 23, finding some way to make the headlines.

At his best he is a devastating goalscorer: strong, fast, and a brilliant finisher. At his worst he’s a self-indulgent playboy brat.

The son of Ghanaian immigrants to Italy,  he was fostered to a white family, aged three. And there were times during his three-year spell at Manchester City when his behaviour was that of an overindulged three- year-old.

Mario Balotelli pictured on the beach with his girlfriend Fanny Neguesha who he proposed to this week

He ran up £10,000 in parking fines, his fleet of supercars, including a camouflage-painted Bentley,  being impounded 27 times.

He carried £5,000 in cash ‘because I’m rich’, set ablaze his £3.65 million Cheshire mansion by letting off fireworks in the bathroom and reportedly cheated on then-girlfriend Raffaella Fico, mother of his daughter Pia, with a prostitute who had previously enjoyed Wayne Rooney’s company.

In April 2013, he declared that if Real Madrid made it to the Champion’s League final: ‘I will let my girlfriend sleep with all the players.’ Luckily for her, they didn’t.

His crazy Missus:

Italian midfielder Andrea Pirlo

Belgian model Fanny Neguesha (above with Balotelli), 23, has travelled to Brazil to be with him after he proposed to her this week. Neguesha has been dating him on and off since 2012. She attends his games and posts pictures of them on her Twitter and Instagram accounts.

She has a tattoo on her arm which reads: ‘Your love is what makes me love.’

However, in March she changed her Instagram status to single and deleted all of the pictures of them together after reports that Balotelli had cheated on her with an Italian Playboy model. Balotelli soon won her back, however.

The Great Conductor:

Aged 35, Andrea Pirlo (right) won’t beat anyone for pace, but he’s the conductor who makes everyone play to his tempo.

He has amassed a £20 million-plus fortune from football, but as the son of a steel tycoon from Northern Italy, he doesn’t need the money. He could spend all day tending the family’s Pratum Coller vineyard and sampling the wines.

Toast our win - Samba style:

Caipirinha cocktails:

Caipirinha cocktails are the national drink of Brazil

The national drink of Brazil is a potent blend of Cachaça cane spirit (available at most supermarkets and off-licences), lime and brown sugar.

Cut half a lime into four wedges and mash them with two teaspoons of brown sugar in a short tumbler. Fill the glass with crushed ice. Add a generous shot of Cachaça.

Or try Caprifruta, a sort of Brazilian Pimm’s that adds more crushed fruits such as pineapple, mango, grapes and tangerine to the mix.

Steak served with chimichurri sauce:

‘Churrasco’ or barbecued meat, especially steak, is one of Brazil’s great culinary passions. And it’s perfect for that pre-match barbie. Brazilian beef needs a tangy chimichurri sauce.

To make enough for two steaks, take a small bunch of rough-chopped parsley, half a teaspoon of oregano, two garlic cloves, one shallot and half a teaspoon of chilli flakes and blitz them in a food processor.

Then add two tablespoons of olive oil, the juice of half a lemon and two teaspoons of red wine vinegar.

Rub half a tablespoon of olive oil, plus salt and pepper into the steaks. Grill them to your liking. Then spoon the sauce on top and tuck in.