World Cup WAG who thinks it’s all about her
England stars’ success is down to time with loved ones, says Rebekah Vardy
HER sharp- shooting husband could fire England into the World Cup quarterfinals tonight.
But as the nation holds its breath, striker Jamie Vardy’s wife Rebekah is hogging as much of the limelight as she can – claiming her husband’s success is partly down to her.
The 36-year-old reality TV star has been doing media interviews almost daily while in Russia with her family.
She has also been sharing pictures online of her time with other WAGs, boarding private jets and going on extravagant shopping trips, as well as the inevitable glamorous matchday selfies.
Estimates suggest 20million people will watch the game on TV in Britain tonight and 36million pints of beer are expected to be drunk across the country today – 17million in pubs and 19million at home.
The British Beer and Pub Association also predicted £25million would be spent on food in pubs today and £30million on meals eaten at home.
Meanwhile, the National Grid expects electricity demand to spike by 700 megawatts at half-time – equiv- alent to 27million fridge doors opening at the same time as fans grab another beer.
The grid’s director of system operations Duncan Burt said: ‘We’ll balance supply and demand second by second in real time.’
England face Colombia at 7pm in the 45,000-seater Spartak Stadium in Moscow, with around 4,000 of their fans thought to have travelled to Russia. Mrs Vardy will be there too of course, cheering the team – and herself – on.
She claimed yesterday the national side had prospered thanks to the presence of their loved ones.
She said coach Gareth Southgate has helped get the most out of the players by allowing them time alone with their families and friends, unlike during previous tournaments.
She told The Sun: ‘He’s got the right idea of the team mentality. He’s really relaxed with the players and he makes an effort with all of the families.
‘He really encourages family days after games, which relaxes the players – it brings a bit of normality in’.
The other WAGs have kept comparatively low profiles during England’s campaign but, keen to stay in the spotlight yesterday, Mrs Vardy embarked on another string of interviews.
Speaking to Good Morning Britain from her hotel room in St Petersburg, she denied rumours that players had been banned from sex during the tournament, saying: ‘ Not that I know of, no. Bit ridiculous, isn’t it, really.’
But the mother of four, who regularly wears her husband’s number 11 shirt to matches, admitted it can be difficult to have time alone with him.
‘ It’s a logistical nightmare when you’ve got children out here but I can’t speak for everyone, so who knows.’ Addressing England’s chances of winning the World Cup, she said: ‘England are the underdogs so far… so fingers crossed, we could be experiencing something historical.
‘We watched both of the games yesterday and it was really nerve-racking. For us fans and for families and friends [a penalty shootout] would probably be the most nerve-racking thing. For the players, I think it’s all in a day’s work. They’re cool, calm and collected and they know what they’ve got to do.’
She revealed she will not be wearing her ‘unlucky J’ necklace at tonight’s game, as she believes it may have contributed to England’s 1-0 defeat by Belgium last week. She said: ‘This is going to sound crazy, but in the Euros, when we lost to Iceland, I had on my necklace which has a J. I also wore that against Belgium, so it’s not coming out again.
‘At first I thought, “Don’t be so ridiculous!” But maybe…’