Before there were Basketball Wives, there were the footballer WAGs (aka wives and girlfriends), as the British tabloids fondly christened them. In the UK and all over Europe, being a footballer (what we Americans call a soccer player) is like being Tom Brady and Derek Jeter all rolled into one. Men want to be you and women want to be with you. Not just any women, though–women whose spending habits and glamour are so mesmerizing that rag mags devote multiple columns and online articles to reporting on them.

Public appetite for WAGs and what is dubbed the “WAG factor” is so overwhelming that some blamed them and their hard-partying antics for England’s 2006 Baden-Baden World Cup defeat. Adding some fuel to the speculation, the English coach even banned (or rather, limited) WAG presence at the 2010 World Cup games, permitting them to only visit once a week.

The Euro Cup final will be played on Sunday (Italy vs. Spain), so we thought these soccer sirens deserved some of the spotlight. From Victoria Beckham to Spanish hottie Sara Carbonero, we’ve whipped up a guide for recognizing the world’s most notorious WAGs, as well as some of their reputed favorite British and European beauty brands. Click through to see these five ladies and what’s in their beauty arsenal (not to be confused with Arsenal, a UK football club).

Photos: Getty