(Left to right) Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins, Kristijan Jakić, Igor Matanović and the team’s head of communications Tomislav Pacak speak at a press conference at Episcopal High School, June 10, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)
(Left to right) Croatian players Kristijan Jakić and Igor Matanović speak at a press conference at Episcopal High School, June 11, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)
(Left to right) Croatian players Kristijan Jakić and Igor Matanović speak at a press conference at Episcopal High School, June 11, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)
Reporters at a press conference at Episcopal High School, June 10, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)
Mayor Alyia Gaskins gets interviewed by Chad Ricardo of Fox5 at Episcopal High School, June 10, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)
Chad Ricardo of Fox5 introduces Alexandria’s City Council at Episcopal High School, June 10, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)
Mayor Alyia Gaskins welcomes Croatia’s national football team to the city, June 10, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)
Visit Alexandria CEO Todd O’Leary (left) with City Manager Jim Parajon at the welcoming party for the Croatian National Football Team at Episcopal High School, June 10, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)
City Councilman Abdel Elnoubi and his family at Episcopal High School, June 10, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)
Alexandria City Council at Episcopal High School to welcome the Croatia National Football Team, June 10, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)
Stipe Pletikosa, the technical director of the Croatian Football Federation, presents the Alexandria City Council with a jersey at Episcopal High School, June 10, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)
The St. George Junior Tamburitzans perform at Episcopal High School to welcome the Croatia National Football Team to Alexandria, June 10, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)
Alexandria City High School students perform at Episcopal High School to welcome the Croatia National Football Team to Alexandria, June 10, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)
The scene as crowds watch the Croatia National Football Team practice at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, June 10, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)
The Croatia National Football Team practices at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, June 10, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)
The Croatia National Football Team practices at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, June 10, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)
The Croatia National Football Team practices at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, June 10, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)
The scene at Episcopal High School as crowds watch the Croatia National Football Team practice at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, June 10, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)
Alexandria welcomed the Croatia National Football Team on Wednesday as the FIFA World Cup begins.
The team is staying at Hotel AKA in Old Town North for the duration of the World Cup and will train at Episcopal High School. At Episcopal, Mayor Alyia Gaskins welcomed the team to town and City Council presented them with a commemorative ceramic bowl and a coin with the seal of the city. In turn, the team’s technical director gave the city a commemorative jersey, and then a crowd of hundreds watched as the players took to the field to practice.
“We could not be more honored to be the home for this team for the next month,” Gaskins said. “For us, this is an opportunity not just to celebrate football, but to begin a long-lasting relationship of friendship and cultural exchange.”
While the team will be at Hotel AKA, don’t expect players to be frequenting any Alexandria bars. The team’s schedule is packed, communications chief Tomislav Pacak told ALXnow.
The team will first play England on June 17 at Dallas Stadium, then June 23 against Panama at Toronto Stadium and June 27 against Ghana at Philadelphia Stadium.
The Croatian squad is one of the world’s best, placing second in 2018, and third in 2022 and 1998. This is their seventh World Cup appearance.
Sports reporter Edi Dzindo, with two of his colleagues, followed the team from Croatia, and said that the players are like rock stars back home.
“This is the biggest thing happening in Croatia right now,” Dzindo told ALXnow. “The Croatian public wants to know all the details, but there’s a fine line between respecting the privacy of the players and giving the public what they want. So, this line needs to be walked to perfection, you know?”
Alexandria was the only Virginia locality chosen to be a home base for the 2026 World Cup teams. The city held the Flavors & Sounds of Croatia event with the Croatian Embassy at Waterfront Park on June 6 to commemorate the team’s visit, and Old Town Boutiques is holding a “Shop the Checkers” promotion from June 14 to 28. Training sessions at Episcopal High School are not open to the public.
Reporter James Cullum has spent nearly 20 years covering Northern Virginia. He began working with ALXnow in 2020, and has covered every story under the sun for the publication, from investigative stories to features and photo galleries. His work includes coverage of national and international situations, as well as from the White House, Capitol, Pentagon, Supreme Court and State Department. He's covered protests and riots throughout the U.S. (including the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol), in addition to earthquake-ridden Haiti, Western Sahara in North Africa and war-torn South Sudan. He has photographed presidents and other world leaders, celebrities and famous musicians, and excels under pressure.
