Table of Contents
ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Two World Cup teams that called Alexandria home this month meet Saturday in Philadelphia — and it is a matchup that could send one of them home for good.
Croatia arrived in Alexandria in early June, setting up its base camp at the AKA Hotel and training at Episcopal High School. The Vatreni — World Cup runners-up in 2018 and third-place finishers in 2022 — opened their stay with a community welcome where Mayor Alyia Gaskins presented technical director Stipe Pletikosa with a bowl she described as ceramic, symbolizing the team's "strength and light." The Alexandria City High School band performed, and hundreds of local children lined up for autographs and mini soccer balls. Watch parties followed at spots including Franklin Hall and Royal Restaurant.
Croatia lost to England in Dallas (4-2) and beat Panama in Toronto (1-0), returning to its Alexandria base between matches. Captain Luka Modrić, playing in his fifth World Cup at age 40, trained at Episcopal alongside teammates who, through the team's reports, spoke of feeling welcomed in the city — Orlando City winger Marco Pašalić, who plays his club football in the U.S., told the Brief he felt "right at home."
Ghana's Alexandria chapter
Ghana, too, passed through the Alexandria area on its way to the World Cup. The Black Stars arrived in the United States on June 3, met by a celebratory welcome from the Ghanaian diaspora — fans drumming, dancing and cheering — at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center, where the team stayed and trained in the area before the tournament.
Mayor Gaskins paid a courtesy visit to the team's hotel on June 10 — the same day she helped welcome Croatia at its community event across town. For a few days in mid-June, both of Saturday's opponents were headquartered in the same city at the same time.
Before departing for their Rhode Island base camp around June 11, hundreds of members of the Ghanaian diaspora packed the Hilton for a farewell dinner attended by Mayor Gaskins, Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley and City Council members John Chapman, Abdel Elnoubi and Sandy Marks. Ghana Football Association President Kurt Okraku told the crowd the team had not come "to be counted among the numbers," but to compete and fight for the title. The Black Stars spent roughly a week based in the Alexandria area before relocating north — a brief stay, but one that left a mark on the city's large Ghanaian community.
On the field, Ghana opened with a 1-0 win over Panama in Toronto, then drew 0-0 with England in the Boston area.
Saturday's stakes
Now the two teams meet at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Saturday at 5 p.m.— the one match of either team's group stage within driving distance of Alexandria, and the first realistically reachable for local fans who followed both squads.
The standings make it tense. Ghana sits on four points after its win over Panama and draw with England; Croatia has three after rebounding from its 4-2 loss to England with a 1-0 win over Panama on Tuesday. England also has four points. Both of Group L's final matches — Croatia vs. Ghana and England vs. Panama — kick off simultaneously Saturday, so the group will be decided in real time.
For Croatia, a win over Ghana would lift the Vatreni to six points and very likely second place and a Round of 32 berth. A draw would leave Croatia hoping to advance as one of the eight best third-place finishers — though the head-to-head result also factors into FIFA's tiebreakers if the teams finish level. For Ghana, a win would all but secure its own place in the knockout round; a draw or loss could leave the Black Stars sweating the third-place math, or send them home.
The end of Croatia's Alexandria stay
Whatever happens Saturday, the match marks the end of Croatia's residency in Alexandria. The team travels to Philadelphia for the game and is set to return to its hotel afterward, with no further training scheduled in the city. Under FIFA's tournament structure, teams leave their group-stage base camps once the round is complete — and Croatia indicated early in its stay that it would be based in Alexandria only through the group stage, even if it advances.
That means this weekend closes the book on the city's month as host either way: win, and Croatia decamps to wherever its Round of 32 match is played; lose, and its World Cup is over. Two teams that made Alexandria home this summer will have one last connection to the city — a match against each other — before going their separate ways.
Two teams, one Alexandria connection — and, on Saturday, plenty on the line for both.
