A spectacular sight in the United States! A city bus, fully adorned with recognizable red and white squares, cruises the streets of Alexandria, Virginia. This is not a coincidence but a brilliant welcome prepared by the city for the Croatian national football team. Croatia will be setting up its camp in Alexandria during their stay in the USA.

"Today, the DASH city bus was spotted in the recognizable Croatian red and white plaid, with a banner proudly stating: 'Alexandria welcomes the Croatian national football team to the World Cup'. The Croatian Football Federation chose Alexandria after considering over 60 possible locations. The Episcopal High School will serve as the private training camp for the team, while the Hotel AKA Alexandria will be the base for the boys during the tournament," says a social media post.

The excitement was also palpable from the Mayor of Virginia, Alyia Gaskins, who expressed to Novi TV how eagerly she awaits the arrival of the "Vatreni" to her city.

- Words cannot describe how excited I am. This will be my first World Cup in football. I can tell you, whoever I meet, whether they are residents, business owners, other community members, everyone is so excited to welcome the 'Vatreni' and all of you. We feel like you are part of our family, and that's bigger than football. We want you to be part of our community - she said.

- Alexandria offers the best combination of an excellent training center and a comfortable hotel, with direct proximity to the airport and a good geographical position relative to the cities where we will play our first round matches. From a sports perspective, which is always our top priority, we will have truly top-notch conditions at the Episcopal High School, from the field to the fitness facilities and recovery rooms. We had no second thoughts, everything 'clicked on the first try,' including the comfortable hosts in both the hotel and the training center - technical director Stipe Pletikosa said upon returning from the USA after Alexandria was finally selected for the camp.