WHEN mum is German, dad an American and the kids England fans, the World Cup is not just football - it is an international incident.
Loyalties are very much divided in one Ingleby Barwick household.
German Christiane Williams and American Bryce Williams, both 37, lived in Chicago before moving to Teesside.
The couple have two boys Lukas, eight, and Finley, six, who go to Whinstone Primary School in Ingleby Barwick.
But while the Williams family passionately supports all three countries - Germany, USA and England - there are split allegiances.
All three teams have gone through to the knockout stages but the crunch will come tomorrow when England and Germany meet.
Christiane said: “I will support Germany, my boys agreed on England and my husband will have to be the neutral referee between us.
“But my kids have a strong sense of justice and would like to see both teams win if they could.”
Christiane said she remained “completely neutral” when England played the USA in the sides’ first group game.
“My husband supported America and my kids England, as they get influenced at school.
“But we all watched together and cheered for each country.”
It was less of a diplomatic problem when Germany played because everyone was thrilled about the triumphs against Australia and Ghana and sad about the defeat by Serbia.
Christiane said: “My husband plays football himself, although this sport is not very popular in America.
“But in the World Cup we would never support only one team because we could never agree on one.”
The Williams household celebrated by having a barbecue with other German families while watching the World Cup and love their multicultural background.
“If we go on vacation the question ‘Where are you from?’ always takes a bit longer to answer”, said Mrs Williams.
Christiane is set to start teaching German conversation at Newcastle University in September, and records her thoughts on being a mum in a multi-cultural, bilingual family on a blog for the internet.
Together with chemical engineer Bryce, she has raised their children bilingually.
And the family have plenty to talk about while rooting for their teams in the World Cup.
So who do they want to hold the trophy aloft at the end of the tournament?
“For me it is Germany,” said Christiane.
“My husband knows that the USA will probably not win and my kids’ opinion changes from day to day depending which one of us they speak to.”
