The Vatreni delight large crowd of fans in Alexandria

The training session was open to the local community through a joint initiative by FIFA, the City of Alexandria, and Episcopal High School. To the delight of a large number of Croatian supporters—as well as local residents, young people, and children—spectators had the opportunity to see firsthand what it looks like when the world’s third-ranked national team trains.

Shortly before the Vatreni took to the main field, Croatia’s Technical Director for the senior and U-21 national teams and former Croatian international, Stipe Pletikosa, addressed the local community on an adjacent training pitch. As a gesture of appreciation, Pletikosa presented Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins with a Croatian national team jersey after she had spoken warmly about Croatia during a press conference, describing the team as one of the best in the world.

In return, Mayor Gaskins presented Pletikosa with a medal and an official proclamation from the City of Alexandria.

Croatia’s Ambassador to the United States, Pjer Šimunović, also extended a warm welcome to the Vatreni, while Croatian Football Federation President Marijan Kustić attended the training session as well.

As expected, the players were the center of attention—and among them, Luka Modrić stood out most of all. The Vatreni captain continues to attract admiration wherever he goes.

There was also significant interest in the team’s “Americans,” Petar Musa and Marco Pašalić, as well as the rest of the squad, who concluded the session by handing out Croatian Football Federation balls to the spectators.

After training, the excitement continued with autograph signings and numerous photographs, creating lasting memories for fans on the day the Vatreni officially became the newest “residents” of Alexandria.

Copyright by Croatian Football Federation. Quoting text from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to HNS as a source and providing direct link to the original content at hns.family. Re-use of the photographs is not permitted.