The Wags of no other country have attracted so much attention, or amazement, here or abroad. While David Beckham and his team have struggled for form on the pitch, their Wags have displayed a world-beating talent for shopping, partying and champagne quaffing.

A detailed survey by Carma, an international media analysis company, has found that Wags score four times more mentions in the British media than in Germany. Next, a long way behind, comes Argentina, followed by Italy, France and Spain.

According to the research the England Wags have strength in depth, especially when it comes to drinking. They can break swiftly for a party, often late into the night after normal time. When under pressure — perhaps with nothing else to do during the day — their defensive shopping is second to none.

The research identifies the individual stars of the Wag team as rated by media coverage. Top scorer is Cheryl Tweedy, the Girls Aloud singer who is the girlfriend of Ashley Cole. Then comes Victoria Beckham, followed by Carly Zucker, the fitness instructor girlfriend of Joe Cole.

Next is Melanie Slade, the A-level student girlfriend of Theo Walcott, England’s teenage striker. Slade surprisingly beat off strong competition from Coleen McLoughlin, the girlfriend of Wayne Rooney, and Abigail Clancy, the wannabe rock star and girlfriend of Peter Crouch.

However, an internet blog about players’ wives reveals that while the England Wags may be the most sybaritic, they hardly feature in a ranking of the global top 10 “sexiest” football wives and girlfriends. That list is headed by Helena Svedin, wife of the Portuguese star Luis Figo. Of the England Wags only McLoughlin makes it into the list in 10th place.

The form that has brought the England Wags such worldwide attention was on display last week in Baden-Baden. Undaunted by the players’ ragged draw with Sweden, the Wags hit the town like champions. “There was a big party and Nancy [Dell’Olio, the girlfriend of Sven-Goran Eriksson, the England coach] held a dinner in a posh hotel,” said one observer.

“After that the younger element went on to Garibaldi, an upmarket restaurant and bar, where they consumed tequila slammers, tequila sunrises and bottles of champagne. They were dancing around the tables with England fans.”

The Wags were singing “There’s only one Gary Neville” and “We’re not going home”. This apparently referred to the football team but also applied to the Wags — they did not leave the bar until 4am.

The foreign press, while barely mentioning their own Wags, have marvelled at such antics. “Between matches the British wives and girlfriends have their own championship — for the title of Wag queen,” reported Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport.

The only foreign Wag who comes close to the England squad is Raica Oliveira, the girlfriend of Ronaldo, the Brazilian striker. She was pictured in the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung donning a bra depicting black and white footballs surging into a net. The caption read “The loveliest footballs belong to Raica”.

By contrast, the German Wags are dutiful supporters of the team. “While our players fight for their reputation,” wrote Bild, another German newspaper, “their partners watch from the grandstand and inspire.”

The England Wags were foreshadowed by the ITV drama Footballers’ Wives. “Yes, we were there first,” said Eileen Gallagher, managing director of the production company. “Now it’s a feeding frenzy. The real world of these Wags is much wilder than Footballers’ Wives.”

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