Miss Croatia bids farewell to the World Cup with 3.2million followers

Miss Croatia bids farewell to the World Cup: Instagram star now has 3.2MILLION followers after being snapped, hugged and offered marriage by fans in Qatar

• Ivana Knoll found fame at the World Cup as Croatia progressed through stages
• She now has 3.2million Instagram followers – nearly the population of Croatia
• At one point during the World Cup she was gaining 200,000 followers a day 

Model Ivana Knoll is bidding farewell to the World Cup and celebrating her new-found fame which has put it on a similar scale as the stars of the Croatian team.

The Instagram star now has 3.1 million followers and at one time during her stay in Qatar she was garnering 200,000 followers a day.

As she made her way to the Croatia and Morocco game today, she told Mailonline: ‘The number of people who like me around the world is almost the same as the population of my country.

‘The World Cup was amazing and I am sad it’s almost over.

Model Ivana Knoll has been mobbed by fans in Doha after gaining fame with her eye-catching match day outfits

The model’s following online has grown rapidly throughout the tournament. She now has 3.2million Instagram followers

The model bid goodbye to the World Cup as Croatia prepared to face off against Morocco in the third place play off

The patriotic model was pictured throughout the World Cup in outfits in Croatia’s colours, red and white

‘As regards to my Instagram account, I could never have dreamt this could happen to me.

‘I came here with 570,000 followers, now I have 3.2million and that does make me smile.

‘It is almost the same number as the population of my country.’

She has been mobbed wherever she ventured to football stadiums for the World Cup as fans request selfies and hug her.

Ivana has had marriage proposals from eager fans and is regularly asked for selfies when out and about

The Croatia fan said she is very proud of the football team. ‘At the last World Cup we were finalists and 2nd and now we are in top four teams in the world and playing today for the bronze’

Ivana has also received marriage proposals from supporters and messages from some of the football stars themselves.

Ivana, 26, dressed in a blue Croatian football shirt, shorts and blue thigh-high hold ups, added: ‘I am very proud of my team.

‘We are such a small country but with huge successes.

‘At the last World Cup we were finalists and 2nd and now we are in top four teams in the world and playing today for the bronze.’

Dressed in a blue Croatian football shirt, the model cheered on the team in the third place playoff against Morocco on Saturday afternoon

The outfits worn by the model during the games have caused some controversy in conservative Qatar

On Friday Qatar invited her to a dinner but she had to cast aside her skimpy outfits and appear in a red over the knee evening dress

Laughing, she added: ‘And they have the most famous fan. I am excited about my future and happy that I also have fans all around the world as well as in Croatia.’

Ivana, who spends her time between Zagreb and Miami, has been front page news in her home country and was welcomed to events by FIFA after she featured on stadium screens during matches.

On Friday, Qatar invited her to a dinner but she had to cast aside her skimpy outfits and appear in a red over the knee evening dress.

She admitted that she had been anxious about not conforming to Qatar’s strict clothing requirements and has inevitably suffered internet trolling and abuse.

But she added: ‘I am only having fun. People find me attractive and I don’t see anything wrong with that!’

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