From TV-watching grandmothers to roaring ‘doms’, this is why Croatia’s fans are Always Faithful – The Athletic

As part of our Language of Soccer World Cup series, The Athletic is speaking to supporters of all 48 nations competing at the 2026 edition to capture their unique football culture, distilled into a single phrase. You can read the articles in one place here.

Uvijek Vjerni — Always Faithful

It has been stitched into jerseys, inked on biceps and splashed across flags wherever Croatia’s chequered-shirted stars take the pitch.

And it might just explain why Croatians approach every football tournament they qualify for with the sort of breezy confidence that leaves rival supporters scratching their heads.

On paper, it shouldn’t work. A country of barely four million people, leaving them with a limited talent pool, regularly going toe-to-toe with international football’s heavyweights. Yet here they are, fresh off back-to-back World Cup finishes in second (2018) and third (2022) places, with Croatian supporters arriving in North America for the 2026 edition not hoping to belong — but expecting to.

“We’re a small country with a big heart,” says Marin Gabela, a 29-year-old from Split, Croatia’s second biggest city. “And we love to be the underdog. We’re not fearful of anyone.”

To follow Croatia is to witness a peculiar sort of unity.

Ultras who spend their club-game weekends at each other’s throats suddenly become friends draped in the same red-and-white checked jerseys. In the capital Zagreb, the Ozujsko (a major beer brand in Croatia) flows freely. In Split, locals prefer their wine cut with water — a refreshing “bevanda” — as they line the coastal second city’s streets. And somewhere, a Croatian grandmother is cheering for Luka Modric with the same intensity she’d show for a handball player or archer wearing the country’s colours.

For a nation forged in the fires of independence just three decades ago, every match on the world stage, regardless of the sport, remains a chance to show what they’re made of. No opponents are too big and no stage too bright.

There’s a deeper meaning behind Uvijek Vjerni (Always Faithful) as 40-year-old supporter Ante Kvartuc explains. “We’re a strong, religious, Catholic country, but we’re not just faithful to God. It’s in our DNA to take care of each other.”

Yet ultimately, it’s the phrase that follows the football and even the official supporters’ club carries the name. At the previous World Cup in Qatar four years ago, the group — now up to around 25,000 members — created a 200m (650ft) long national flag and paraded it through the city of Doha to support their team.

Croatia fans during a game against Japan at the 2022 World Cup (Jewel Samad/AFP via Getty Images)

In Dallas (actually nearby Arlington), Toronto and Philadelphia, where their three group games are to take place, expect to see and hear the Croatian presence.

“We are distinctive, loud and proud,” says 20-year-old Vigo Mavrovic, who works as a photographer for HNK Rijeka, the 2024-25 national champions. “Most of the Croatians attending the World Cup will be wealthy because it’s so expensive but back at home, the support will be strong. I’ll be watching with friends at the pub or in the house with my Maraska Pelinkovac (a traditional Croatian bitter herbal liqueur) until early in the morning. This squad does not contain a star player — they’re all good, rather than great, but I still believe in them.”

Lovre Nikolac, a part-time podcaster and student based in the city of Dubrovnik, shares similar thoughts. He points to the emergence of 19-year-old Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Luka Vuskovic as a reason to be cheerful and hopes Manchester City’s Josko Gvardiol’s return, having been out with a fractured leg since January, to join him in defence at the World Cup goes smoothly.

He’ll watch the games close to his university with friends and laughs when he considers what tourist-magnet Dubrovnik will look like during the matches. “A lot busier than the winter! We have some foreign exchange students who have started supporting Croatia, so maybe the tourists will follow us too.”

A typical matchday for Lovre starts with coffee, tactical discussions about the game and then beer, “but definitely not Karlovacko (another domestic brand) as I hate that”.

He adds: “Being a fan of Croatia is a part of your life. We’re very loud, passionate, sometimes too nationalistic. But when Croatia play, we’re well behaved. We’ll just throw beer, although not in the same way as the English.”

The variety of supporters creates a unique experience. There are brash, firecracker-throwing Ultras connected to the country’s top clubs including Dinamo Zagreb, Hajduk Split and Rijeka. And then there are others such as Marin, who follows Croatia just as intently but largely from his home, so he can study every moment of the game forensically and then celebrate out on the streets if the result is as hoped.

“When the national team play now, it’s the most important day for my grandmother — and she never watches football (otherwise),” says Marin, who is a director of futsal side MNK Hajduk Split.

“We look at every game and every tournament as a chance to prove and position ourselves. And maybe boost our tourist season! It’s different for us, compared to say, Spain, who are expected to win at every tournament.

“When we beat Brazil on penalties in the quarter-finals in 2022, I was in Zagreb for the craziest day of my life. Every single person was out of their apartment and on the streets. It was like an earthquake had hit us. That’s the only way I can describe it.”

Half a million people welcomed the team back to the capital from Russia after they finished as runners-up to France in the 2018 World Cup and since then, the nation’s love for football has increased. Locals talk about the pride in removing the word “corruption” from daily discussions around the sport and now, more than ever, the focus is firmly on what happens on the pitch rather than off it.

Yet perhaps the most compelling chapter of the Croatian story is not found within its borders, but in the vast network of its global diaspora. With roughly four million Croatians scattered across Europe, Australia and North America, the nation’s sporting passion transcends geography, remaining entirely undiminished by distance.

Although wages have risen, the shift in currency to the euro in 2023 has fuelled a sense that everyday life has become markedly more expensive, so many people continue to leave Croatia in search of better opportunities and financial security elsewhere.

For those settled in the United States and Canada, this tournament carries the electric atmosphere of a “home” World Cup. In hubs such as Toronto, the Croatian presence is huge.

Ante, who manages the influential croatiansports.com website from Los Angeles, transforms his local community centre, known as a “dom”, into a roaring venue, hosting upwards of 2,000 compatriots for every match. People are invited up on stage to discuss tactics, experiences or their role in the community. Sometimes people from other backgrounds are also asked along — providing they remain respectful, seeing as it is connected to the nearby church.

“We have doms all across the world and these are like home bases for us, so when we play, it’s not just a match, it’s a global gathering of people,” says Ante. “The diaspora, we are just as strong. It’s not separate. When the national team plays, it activates it, and I don’t know if there’s going to be anything quite like it all around the world.

“Being a fan is not just supporting the team; it’s expressing our entire identity. It’s magic, it’s high-energy, but it’s very deep-rooted for me. We’re a rare earth human element. If you see one of us, or a group of us, it’s a rare experience. Those who visit for the first time are amazed by the atmosphere and our positivity.”

For years, Croatia have been cast as football’s plucky overachievers, but even after gaining genuine global respect, they are refusing to temper expectations this time around.

Their togetherness and sense of pride will drive them on, as people like Lovre, Vigo, Marin (and his grandma), Ante and millions of others remain Always Faithful.

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