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 FaithfulIt 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 Kvrartuc 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.”