The well-worn cliche describes football as a game of two halves, but it never used to refer to the players and their glamorous partners. Yet at the World Cup in Germany it's the other half who are making all the running.
Since the first ball was kicked, almost as much attention has been focused on the off-field antics of players' wives and girlfriends, or WAGs as the British press has dubbed them.
So far the English contingent - unlike their menfolk - has impressed most, with a string of commanding performances in trendy boutiques and nightspots. With at least two being accompanied by personal fake-tan therapists, little has been done to dispel the stereotype of shopaholic dolly birds for whom looks are paramount.
'Maybe, some years from now, the day will come when an England player marries a woman who is marginally on the homely side, or is just the tiniest bit uninterested in shopping and fashion, or has, say, an A-level,' wrote newspaper columnist Carole Cadwalladr. 'But the 2006 World Cup is not the moment to indulge in such far-fetched flights of fancy.'
A quick glance at the off-field exploits of the tournament's top players shows a mutual attraction between footballers and models.
Brazil's Ronaldo, Ukrainian star Andriy Shevchenko and Portugal's Luis Figo are either married to or dating leading lingerie, swimwear or catwalk models.