Every four years football coaches from all over the world are faced with the same dilemma - should they let players have sex with their wives and girlfriends during the World Cup.

Most coaches try to strike the happy medium. After a period of time without women, and often after an important game, players are allowed to see their partners.

German daily Bild also talks about the phenomenon of World Cup babies. Talking of coach Juergen Klinsmann's decision to let players see their partners after their victory over Poland, Bild said: "We will know the result in 40 weeks". Oliver Khan's three-year-old son was born nine months after the 2002 World Cup, the newspaper points out.

Sven-Goran Eriksson had decided not to let his players see their partners until after the group stage, but he changed his mind following their below-par performance against Paraguay and let the players have a "ladies day" before their second group game.

Dutch players' wives and girlfriends are based 25-kilometres from their team-base and Spanish players need to find a room away from their headquarters if they want to see their partners because although coach Luis Aragones allows players to see their wives and girlfriends they cannot do so in the team hotel.

Advocates of the "total abstinence" philosophy include Costa Rican boss Alexandre Guimaraes and Ecuador's Luis Fernando Suarez - the theory seems to have worked for the latter rather better than it has for the former.

The Brazilians are at the other end of the scale with coach Carlos Alberto Parreira saying: "Sex has never been, and never will be, banned." Although the liberal Samba stars boss does prefer that it doesn't happen in the team hotel on the eve of a game.

Parreira admits that it is a dilemma. He says: "If I let the players have sex then people accuse me of being irresponsible. If I ban it then they say "how can you prohibit sex in the 21st century."