Friday, June 26th, 6:50 AM
Happy belated Father’s Day to all you soccer dads out there.
Sure, I consider myself a “Soccer Dad”. I’m a “Dad” in the sense that I tend to consider the game of soccer itself as my offspring. Much like any other dad, I treat all matches as equally endearing. Seems pretty wild that I’ve chosen to hop on a flight and visit one of them in Philadelphia.
I have yet to touch down in the City of Brotherly Love with the intent of staying in it. That changes this weekend as I explore Philadelphia Stadium, the site where the checkered Kockasti of Croatia take on the “Black Stars” from Ghana.
With both Croatia and Ghana vying for vital positions in the FIFA World Cup Round of 32, it is hard to ignore the vitality of even a single point in this matchup. There are outside chances that either team could fall short of qualifying for the next round.
However, if the dominoes topple just right, Panama could shock England one state over, and either Ghana or Croatia could win Group L.
Whether or not the match turns into a bloodbath or just a bath itself depends on the weather report. Meteorologists predict a whole mess of on-and-off showers for the matchday, making it the perfect juxtaposition to the crystalline blue skies of Dallas that we couldn’t see from inside the stadium two weeks ago.
Photo: Geoff Tebbetts
Friday, June 26th, 11:35 AM
Coffee cannot come soon enough. While the sun has moved onto the Round of 32 without us, we’re forced to qualify in dingy humidity while the clouds threaten a rain delay. The plane jittered all about like a samba in the sky.
Not exactly the welcome committee I expected.
The media center itself seemed prepared to a point. A fifteen-minute walk from station to media center felt like 500 miles,
So why this location? Sure, it’s the closest location to Cincinnati, but we took a flight, not a taxi. There had to be better challenges to observe?
On paper, this matchup shouldn’t have the hypnotism that it has. Croatia and Ghana started this tournament with 61 countries between them (ranked #11 and #73 in FIFA, respectively). While Croatia was runners-up in Russia 2018 and twice finished in third place (France 1998, Qatar 2022), Ghana has not qualified or made it through the group stage since South Africa 2010, when the Black Stars took out the United States in added extra time and almost upset Uruguay in penalty kicks.
The statistics suggest a Croatian landslide, but false assumptions have gotten us to this spot. Croatia failed to arrive for the second half in a 4-2 loss to England and only managed six shots in a fragile 1-0 win over Panama. Ghana managed a similar 1-0 win over Panama, then guarded the fortress through a 0-0 draw against England and their 79% possession.
The Black Stars flexed their muscle during World Cup qualifying. Ghana chewed through Mali, Madagascar, Comoros, Central African Republic, and Chad, winning eight of ten matches to finish first. Forward Jordan Ayew (formerly from Leicester City) scored seven goals and seven assists in qualification, while the goalkeepers and defense posted six clean sheets along the way.
However, Ghana also performed very poorly against Angola, Sudan, and Niger in AFCON group play, winning none of the six group matches and scoring only three goals.
Even their performance at the World Cup has not been convincing in the offensive department. Had midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi (Nordsjælland) not scored in extra time against Panama, Ghana possibly would be looking at a 0-0 two-spot going into a match against a Croatia team unafraid of the goal.
The offense is still looking to gel under star midfielder Antoine Semenyo (Manchester City), while controversy surrounded Thomas Partey. While the Villarreal midfielder has been awaiting a trial in Europe, Canadian officials denied his visa for the match against Panama. Partey did return to the squad for the next match and is expected to play vs Croatia.
Goalkeeper Benjamin Asare (Hearts of Oak) has come off the bench to hold two clean sheets so far. Lawrence Ati-Zigi (St. Gallen) was lifted halfway through the Panama match due to injury.
Croatia themselves took a sleep aid before their trip, a relatively simple path through qualifiers. UEFA Group L had some challengers in Czechia (Croatia’s only draw in the group) and Montenegro, but Faroe Islands and Gibraltar did not pose much threat.
However, Croatia has been seeking consistency amongst the elite in UEFA. While the squad were runners-up in the 2022-23 UEFA Nations League, losing to Spain in the Finals in penalty kicks, more recent performances were not as performative. Croatia failed to advance out of the group stage in the 2024 European Championships and stumbled in the 2024-25 Nations League quarterfinals against France.
Forward Andrej Kramarić (Hoffenheim) scored six goals, while winger Ivan Perišić (PSV Eindhoven) scored four, which was one more than Gibraltar scored overall in qualifications.
While Petar Musa (FC Dallas) received a warm welcome in Dallas for the England match, scoring his second goal for the national team and first in the World Cup, the offense itself has been missing for long stretches. Goalkeeper Dominik Livaković (Dinamo Zagreb) recovered after a difficult performance against England, posting a clean sheet against Panama.
Friday, June 26th, 12:45 PM
Press Conference with Carlos Queiroz, Ghana National Team Head Coach, and winger Antoine Semenyo
Queiroz has been given the reins multiple times for national teams, but the Portuguese manager is still looking to rediscover his form as a leader. While he enjoyed a long stint as the Iran head coach over the past three World Cup cycles, he has yet to bust an underdog out of the group stages. The last time a team coached by Queiroz escaped the group stage, his Portuguese side lost the battle for Iberia against Spain in the 2010 Round of 16.
“It’s another battle, another tough game in front of us,” Queiroz emphasized in his presser. “It’s the third part of one game, playing against a great team with wonderful, experienced players. For sure, it will be tough and intensive for both sides, but at the end of the day I do believe it will be a lot of fun and entertainment for everybody. I hope, with the inspiration of my players, that we’ll be able to express the best football of the day on the pitch.”
The term “entertainment” seems to be vocabulary deeply interspersed in Queiroz’s teaching philosophy. “It’s a philosophical question. For me, ‘entertainment’—it is to fight 90 minutes to result to win. It only matters in football to win and to see everybody happy around us.
“Some people, when they see the result of 6-1 or 7-1, it is entertainment for one side…for me, it is emotional technical drama in the game. I think the game against England had everything—drama, effort, emotions from the players. We’ll see if tomorrow is rock’n’roll, tango, samba. One thing is for sure—both teams have to be ready.”
Manchester City midfielder Antoine Semenyo stressed that the players are prepared for the task at hand. “A lot of pundits wrote us off, and that’s just opinion at the end of the day. We know what we can do as a team. The manager’s come and brought in this philosophy, and it’s worked out perfectly for us. We’re a lot more defensively solid, for sure. We can definitely create chances.”
As much as Queiroz stressed diligence and the entertainment of the match at hand, the discussion quickly turned to results, as the press understood that Ghana benefitted less by finishing second in the group. Vice-captain Thomas Partey was not allowed to enter Canada for the Panama match due to his ongoing legal inquiry in England. Since the next destination would be Toronto if Ghana finishes runners-up in the group, the question of results came to mind.
Queiroz dismissed the idea that Ghana needed to play chess to get the best placement for the next round. “The game of football is so difficult. You cannot play two or three games at the same time. We’re just focusing on Croatia to get a good result. We want to play good football to be better than (Croatia) on the pitch.”
Queiroz’s defending mentality does make the subdued offense a question for attackers like Semenyo. “Of course, as an attacker, you want to be higher up the pitch, scoring goals and creating chances. For the last game (against England), we knew we would be defending a lot. If we need to defend for 90 minutes to get a result, it’s what we have to do.”
The press conference may have ended with still lingering doubt in the ranks of the media. If Ghana have to defend the entirety of the match Saturday, what chances do they have beyond that?
Friday, June 26th, 1:45 PM
Yeah, the cheesesteaks are good, but have you ever had a good roast pork sandwich?
All we’ll have to say is that Reading Terminal Market is there for all of your hangry moments.
Friday, June 26th, 5:45 PM
Tradition has followed the Croatian fans from Toronto to Dallas. And now Philadelphia has felt the flutter from a 100-meter flag pulled through Center City. It started with the wave of oversized flags outside Con Murphy’s Irish Pub on Cret Plaza, only to build into a crescendo of claps and checkered jerseys.
The chants of Mi Hrvati (“We Croats”) rang out from a Matchday-1 march through the center of Philadelphia. Hundreds of fans crowded the street to carry an oversized flag with the name of “Bribir, Croatia”, a prominent village in the country.
While tradition can sometimes be orthodox and expected, the collision between cultures can sometimes provide unexpected results. The goal was for the march to end at Independence Mall, the location of the Liberty Bell.
Needless to say, the police escort ended quite far from the expected destination.
OH MY GOD the Croatian fans have invaded a set of wedding photos outside City Hall and forced them to join in on the march HOW COULD YOU NOT LOVE THE WORLD CUP 🇭🇷🇭🇷🇭🇷 pic.twitter.com/yfehWONRn4
— Jimmy King (@Jimmyking35) June 26, 2026
Try to explain to the couple getting married outside City Hall that the throng of fans in Croatian red and white are supposed to be there. In the end, it’s just an awesome thing to put in the digital wedding album.
Of note: no Croatian flags or uniforms were hung on the Rocky statue.
Friday June 26th, 7:10 PM
Press Conference with Zlatko Dalic, Croatia National Team Head Coach, and winger Ivan Perisic
It’s hard to assume the details lost when press conferences are ended much earlier than expected, especially when the presser itself starts late.
While Queiroz may have said a lot about nothing, Dalic said very little, leaving much more for Perisic to discuss. Both head coach and player noted that there was a lot left to be desired, especially on defense.
“In order to be successful, we need to play better than we did the past two matches,” Dalic noted. “We need to be more focused on defense and not lose the ball too easily. We need to create more opportunities.
“We seem to be losing the ball too easily. We need to raise the level of our concentration.”
The Croatian vice-captain was a little more specific on confidence and reality. “These two days, more focus was on recovery so there was not so much time to train. But we know what it takes and we need to play better than the last two matches.”
Considering the press conference lasted less than half of the allotted time, perhaps there was little that needed to be said by Croatia. With England and Ghana both likely to advance regardless of result, the Vatreni (“Blazers”) will have to do more than just talk on Saturday.
Predicted lineups (according to FOTMOB)
Match Info
Where: Philadelphia Stadium (Lincoln Financial Field), Philadelphia, PA
When: Saturday, June 27th at 5:00 p.m. EST
Watch: FOX Sports 1
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