World Cup: Meet the WAGs cheering on the Socceroos in Qatar

The highly-anticipated World Cup kicks off in just hours with billions of people across the world tuning in to watch the 32 teams fight for the trophy.

And many Australians will be hoping the Socceroos will impress after a nail-biting qualifier earlier this year.

Cheering on Graham Arnold’s men from the stands will be a bevvy of beautiful WAGs.

With a trainee doctor, a marketing student and many yummy mummies, gorgeous influencers and models among the wives and girlfriends of the stars, there’s no shortage of support for the Australian team.

Read on to see the Who’s Who of the latest generation of WAGs that will be donning an Australia shirt for the team…  

GLAM MOTHER-OF-TWO 

Stunning mother-of-two Nicola Mooy will be leading the WAGs to cheer on her midfielder husband Aaron in Qatar this week. 

The couple, who started dating in 2011, tied the knot in 2017 just a week before he led his then-team Huddersfield to victory in the play-off final against Reading, scoring a winning goal in the penalty shoot-out and securing the Yorkshire side a position in the Premiership.

‘She’s finally my wife! What an amazing day,’ he wrote on Instagram at the time.

Scottish-born stunner Nicola has stayed by Aaron’s side through many international moves, including stints playing for teams across the UK as well as Sydney, Melbourne, and Shanghai.

In the 10 years since they met while Aaron was playing for Scottish side St Mirren, they have welcomed two children, daughter Skye, seven, and son Max, four. 

Always by his side, Nicola often posts supportive comments on social media, as well as loved-up photos of the pair with ‘infinity symbols’ and captions about their undying love.

In May, she celebrated their five-year anniversary, writing on Instagram: ‘Today we celebrate five years married and 11 together. 

‘Fate brought us together all those years ago. We have overcome so much and come out together stronger for it. I’m the luckiest gal to have you by my side. You age like a fine wine @aaronmooy. I love you.’

STYLISH STUDENT WITH A TASTE FOR JET-SETTING

Stunning student Isabella Arduca, 21, has beauty and brains, and is currently studying for a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing at RMIT University in Melbourne.

This meant she was close by her 23-year-old right-back boyfriend Nathaniel Atkinson while he played for Melbourne City. In December, Atkinson was transferred to Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian F.C., but the couple stayed together.

In June, they enjoyed a sun-soaked trip to Bali, with Nathaniel sharing dozens of snaps of his gorgeous girlfriend bikini-clad on the beach.

Isabella has also made many trips to Scotland to visit her beau, with her Instagram full of photos of her visiting Edinburgh Castle as well as Valentine’s Day trips down to London to dine in some of the world’s top restaurants, including the Nusr-Et steakhouse, where meals cost up to £1,450 (AU$2,570).

She is also regularly seen partying it up back home at Melbourne’s top nightclubs.

Isabella clearly has a taste for the jet-set lifestyle, having enjoyed sun-soaked getaways to the Maldives, Dubai, Greece and the Amalfi Coast.

PR WHIZZ AND NEWLYWED

Melbourne City ace Jamie Maclaren will be hoping to score some goals for the Socceroos, and he’ll certainly have wife Iva Arapovic by his side to cheer him on.

Maclaren, who represented Scotland at youth level before playing for Australia, made headlines when he missed the World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia to tie the knot to his PR whiz fiancée.

‘I’ve had a bit on my mind since 2020 when I was trying to marry my partner. A lot has happened,’ Maclaren told Big Sports Breakfast at the time.

‘Obviously setbacks have happened. Everyone’s been through this whole Covid period for the last two years and the unpredictability of it is difficult.

‘This date was chosen well over a year ago and the phone call to the boss [Socceroos coach Graham Arnold] was a hard one, but at the same time I’ve got no choice.’  

The pair met during his stint with Perth Glory in 2013, before moving to Brisbane, Germany and Scotland before eventually coming back to Australia to play for Melbourne.

Iva works as an account director for Project PR & Media in Melbourne, while also looking after the couple’s Golden Retriever Simba.

Maclaren previously described Simba as ‘the luckiest dog alive’ as he gets five walks a day thanks to the couple’s active lifestyle.

‘It cost $12,000 to get him to Australia. He’s that much of a son to me, I would’ve paid $60,000. He’s worth every cent,’ he told the Herald Sun in 2019.

INSTAGRAM MODEL WITH A LOVE FOR DESIGNER LABELS 

Gorgeous model Rosemarie ‘Rose’ Behich met left-back Aziz Behich in 2014 while they were both living in Melbourne and instantly connected.

A move to Turkey and then Scotland, followed by a diamond ring and a World Cup later, the pair are closer than ever. 

This is the second World Cup at which Rose will be supporting her husband after following him to Russia in 2018.

In between documenting their trips to European countries, beach holidays and soccer matches, Rosemarie’s Instagram is littered with pictures of the couple looking loved-up, as well as many of her designer shopping trips.

‘Gorg day spending the afternoon with my number one,’ she wrote after they arrived in Russia. 

The couple now live in Dundee, which Aziz joined in July.  

Last month, Rose shared a snap of the pair in Glasgow alongside the caption: ‘New beginnings with you.’

Aziz and Rose married in 2019 and recently celebrated their third wedding anniversary.

MODEL SISTER OF SCOTLAND STAR 

Cheering on Aussie ace Jason Cummings, 26, is Scottish model Hannah Doig.

The Edinburgh-born bombshell, 23, is clearly devoted to the soccer star, recently getting a tattoo of his name for Valentine’s Day.

Hannah is also the sister of Scotland player Josh Doig, but will be putting all her support behind Australia after the northern British nation failed to qualify.

Like many of the Socceroos, Jason, who was also born in Edinburgh, had a thriving career in Scotland playing at Hibs, Dundee and Rangers before heading Down Under and signing for Central Coast Mariners this year.

The model is clearly enjoying life on the Central Coast, with her Instagram full of glam shots of herself surfing and watching her beau play.

She has also managed to make trips around Australia and overseas, including getaways to Bali, Sydney, Melbourne and the Australian Reptile Park.

While the young couple haven’t been together for as long as some of the veterans on the team, for their first Valentine’s Day this year Jason got a tattoo of ‘H’ with a heart next to it on his wrist.

Meanwhile, she got a ‘J’ to repay the gesture.

EXPECTANT MUM AND MEDICAL STUDENT

Many of the beauties on the squad are also brainboxes – including Aleksandra Sijan Degenek who is studying to be a doctor.

The 29-year-old, who is currently studying in Serbia, is also expecting her second child with husband Miloš Degenek and has a thriving modelling career.

Posting on Instagram earlier this month, Miloš wrote: ‘We are expanding soon for a family member we can’t wait and look forward to having fun. We are expanding so proud of my wife and our family.’

Aleksandra also has walked the runway for Suzana Perić and Rita Design.

Miloš was born in Croatia but fled to Belgrave with many other Serbians as a refugee aged one during the Croatian War of Independence. He moved to Australia in 2000, aged five, and made he debut for the Australian team in 2016.

Aleksandra now splits her time between Novi Sad in Serbia, where she is studying, and Ohio, where her husband plays for Columbus Crew.

In August 2021, they welcomed their first child, a daughter, and just two weeks ago they announced they were expecting their second child. 

Despite being a busy mum and studying full-time, the glamazon still manages to make time for exotic trips across the world, recently heading on a skiing holiday, as well as sunny getaways to Dubai and Mumbai.

EDGY TATTOO ARTIST  

Tattoo artist Jemilla Pir, 31, is far from the stereotypical WAG.

The British-born girlfriend of midfielder Jackson Irvine currently lives in Hamburg with her beau, who plays for Bundesliga side FC St. Pauli.

She also sells prints of her artwork and has even previously tattooed Jackson, who told The Scotsman: ‘Everyone had a lockdown meltdown, didn’t they?

‘This was mine. Me and my girlfriend Jemilla finished Netflix so we decided to tattoo each other and then I pierced my ears.’

The proud Yorkshire lass also regularly heads back to her native UK to visit family.

DOTING MUM-OF-THREE

Veteran Socceroo Matthew Leckie will have wife-of-six-years Laura cheering him on.

The Melbourne City FC winger married Laura in 2016, and the pair have since welcomed three children together. 

Laura is a devoted mum, with her Instagram full of sweet family snaps of her kids, Olivia, five, Henry, three, and a one-year-old whose name they have not revealed.

The family-of-five live in Melbourne.

TEENAGE SWEETHEARTS

Attacking midfielder Riley McGree, 24, has been with his girlfriend Jordy Boyce since they were teenagers. She even followed him to Middlesbrough when he signed for the English Championship side earlier this year.

The South African-born player previously signed for Adelaide, before making the move to MLS side Charlotte and then heading over to the UK.

Despite both being in their early twenties, the pair have long-term goals with Jordy appearing by his side during his early career days at Melbourne City.

The pair made their red carpet debut at The Best FIFA Football Awards in 2018 in London.