HNS opens the Fiery Zone on Zagreb's Cvjetni Square from June 17
The Croatian Football Federation announced that from June 17, the official HNS Fiery Zone will open on Zagreb's Cvjetni Square, namely Petar Preradović Square, conceived as the central gathering place for fans during the Croatian national football team's appearance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. According to HNS's announcement, entry to the zone will be free, and the area in the very center of Zagreb will offer a daily program for different generations of visitors. At the center of the zone, a large LED screen will be installed on which World Cup matches will be watched, while on the days of the Croatian national team's matches a special fan and entertainment program will be organized. The Federation also announced partner activations, content for children and adults, and additional experiences that, according to HNS, should create the atmosphere of jointly watching the biggest football tournament. HNS has not yet published the detailed program schedule, times and additional practical information, but stated that it will communicate them subsequently through its official channels.
The opening of the Fiery Zone coincides with Croatia's first match at the tournament, as HNS states on the national team's official page that the Croatian team plays against England in Dallas on June 17. Croatia is, according to FIFA's schedule and HNS information, placed in Group L with England, Ghana and Panama. This means the Zagreb zone opens precisely at the moment when the largest first wave of interest in the national team's matches is expected, especially in the match against England, an opponent with which Croatia has played several matches of high competitive and symbolic significance over the past two decades. In its announcement, HNS does not provide security or traffic details for the Cvjetni Square area, so for now it is not known whether special movement regimes, additional space-organization measures or capacity restrictions will be in place at certain times. According to available information, the most important thing for visitors has been confirmed to the public: entry will be free, and Cvjetni Square has officially been designated as HNS's open fan location during Croatia's appearance at the World Cup.
Cvjetni Square as an open center of fan gathering
The choice of Cvjetni Square as the central location gives the Fiery Zone a recognizable urban setting, because it is one of Zagreb's busiest public spaces and a place often used for public events, promotions and gatherings. In its announcement, HNS emphasizes that the space will be open during the Croatian national team's appearance, not only on the day of the first match, which points to the intention for the zone to function as a continuous point of the fan program. Such a concept is especially important for major international tournaments, because national-team matches often create a broader city rhythm, from daily announcements and gatherings to evening broadcasts and accompanying content. According to the Federation's announcement, the main visual and program element will be a large LED screen, turning the space into a public place for watching matches for those who want a collective atmosphere instead of following the broadcast in a private space or hospitality venues. Since HNS has not yet published a complete daily program, visitors will have to follow later official announcements for performance times, activities and possible organizational instructions.
An official fan zone in an open space differs from spontaneous gatherings in that it is announced in advance, program-defined and connected with the organizer of the football event at the national level. According to HNS, the program will not be limited only to watching matches, but will include entertainment content, partner activations and experiences adapted to children and adults. Such an approach shows that the zone is not planned exclusively as a space to arrive at immediately before the start of a match, but as a place that can come alive even before the broadcast, especially on days when Croatia plays. At the same time, free entry makes the event accessible to the wider public, which is important information in the context of the great interest that accompanies the national team's appearances at world championships. In practice, the final impression will depend on the program schedule, the organization of visitor flow, weather conditions and how successfully HNS and its partners manage to align entertainment content with the zone's basic purpose, which is watching matches together.
Additional Fiery Zones at Tvornica kulture and Rijeka's Pogon
Along with the central zone on Cvjetni Square, HNS announced two more Fiery Zones, one at Zagreb's Tvornica kulture and another at Rijeka's Pogon. According to the Federation's announcement, these are the largest organized gatherings for following the World Cup in fully enclosed and air-conditioned spaces, with an accompanying program, musical content, partner activations and various competitions intended for visitors. In this way, HNS actually separates two types of fan experience: the open, central city zone on Cvjetni Square and indoor spaces in which the program can take place more independently of weather conditions. Tvornica kulture is already recognized as a Zagreb concert and club venue, while Rijeka's Pogon is presented in the announcement as a location that should offer a separate urban atmosphere during the tournament. HNS has not published all details about capacities, entry conditions, possible reservations or special rules for the indoor zones, so further organizational information remains to be awaited.
The announcement of additional zones shows that the Federation is counting on interest that goes beyond a single location in the capital. Zagreb will have both an open and an indoor version of an official gathering, while Rijeka gets a separate organized point for watching matches. Compared with Cvjetni Square, indoor locations can offer a different program rhythm, a stronger concert or club element and greater control over the technical conditions of the broadcast. At the same time, the public does not yet have all the information on the basis of which it could compare the three locations by program, accessibility and rules, because HNS has so far presented a general announcement of content. Still, it is clear from that announcement that the Fiery Zones are being presented as part of a broader HNS fan project, and not as isolated broadcasts of individual matches.
Croatia opens the tournament against England in Group L
According to FIFA's official schedule, the 2026 World Cup began on June 11, and the final is scheduled for July 19. The Croatian national team is in Group L with England, Ghana and Panama, and plays its first match against England on June 17 in Dallas, which is confirmed by both FIFA's schedule and HNS's national-team page. Later in the group, Croatia, according to FIFA's schedule, plays against Panama on June 23 in Toronto, and then against Ghana on June 27 in Philadelphia. Precisely because of such a schedule, the opening of the Zagreb zone on June 17 has clear sporting logic: the first match at a world championship almost always carries the greatest uncertainty, because it determines the national team's starting position in the group and influences the atmosphere ahead of the remaining matches. For fan zones, this means that the first day of operation will probably also be one of the most organizationally demanding, although HNS has not yet published estimates of the expected number of visitors.
The match between Croatia and England carries additional weight because of previous matches between the two national teams at major competitions. In its preview of the match, the English Football Association recalls that England and Croatia have played multiple head-to-head encounters so far and highlights their meetings at major tournaments, including the 2018 World Cup semi-final and the match at the 2020 European Championship. Croatia defeated England in Russia in 2018 after extra time and then played the final against France, while England won in the group stage at Wembley at the 2020 European Championship. In the context of Group L, the match in Dallas is therefore not only the start of Croatia's appearance at the tournament, but also one of the most high-profile pairings of the early stage of the competition. HNS does not go into sporting predictions in the Fiery Zone announcement, but it is clear that the program on Cvjetni Square and in the additional zones is being organized at a time of heightened interest in the national team's appearance.
The 2026 World Cup is being played in the largest format so far
The FIFA World Cup 2026 is being held in the United States of America, Canada and Mexico, which is the first time the final tournament is jointly organized by three host countries. According to FIFA's information, 48 national teams are participating in the tournament, and the schedule includes 104 matches, which is a significant expansion compared with earlier editions of the competition. The format includes 12 groups of four national teams, followed by a new round of 32 teams, because alongside the two top-ranked national teams from each group, the best third-placed teams also advance. Such a system increases the number of matches, extends the duration of the competition and gives a larger number of national teams the possibility of remaining in contention even after the group stage. For fans in Europe, time differences present an additional challenge, because matches are played in multiple North American cities, so broadcast times will vary depending on the location of the match.
In this broader context, organized fan zones gain an additional role. The tournament lasts longer, the schedule is denser, and the number of matches is significantly larger, so public interest is not tied only to one day or one weekend. HNS's announcement of a Fiery Zone open daily during Croatia's appearance therefore corresponds to the rhythm of a tournament extending over several weeks. If Croatia advances from the group, interest in the program could continue after June 27, but that will depend on the sporting result and the organizers' official decisions. For now, it has been confirmed that the program is linked to the Croatian national team's appearances, while any later stages must await the development of the competition and additional information from HNS.
A program for different generations, but details are yet to follow
According to HNS, the Fiery Zone on Cvjetni Square should offer content for all generations, which includes children, adult visitors and fans who want to follow matches in an organized public space. In the announcement, the Federation mentions entertainment content, partner activations and experiences intended for different age groups, but does not state a concrete list of performers, a competition schedule or a time plan for the daily program. For that reason, at this moment the concept, locations and basic entry rules can be confirmed, while more precise program elements are still awaited. Such phased communication is common for events that depend on multiple organizational and partner components, but for visitors it means they should check the latest official notices before arriving. Particularly important will be information about the zone's opening time, possible restrictions on bringing in items, the availability of hospitality offerings, access for families with children and conduct in the event of large crowds.
For Zagreb, the announcement of the Fiery Zone is also a question of using public space during a major international sporting event. Cvjetni Square is a pedestrian location in the city center, which makes arrival by public transport and on foot easier, but at the same time requires clear organization when a larger number of people is expected. HNS has not yet published traffic or municipal instructions, and there is also no official information about special regimes in the surrounding streets. Therefore, all claims about the organization of the space beyond HNS's announcement itself must be treated with caution until the competent services issue statements or the organizer publishes additional details. What has been confirmed is that Cvjetni Square will be the official gathering place, that broadcasts will be organized on a large screen and that entry will be free.
Fan zones as part of the broader atmosphere around the national team
The Croatian national team enters the World Cup with a continuity of major results at previous tournaments, including second place in 2018 and third place in 2022, which FIFA and HNS regularly emphasize when presenting the national team. HNS's national-team page lists the final squad for the World Cup, published on June 1, and head coach Zlatko Dalić leads the team in a group whose opponents are England, Panama and Ghana. Ahead of the tournament, according to HNS, the national team defeated Slovenia 2:1 in a friendly match in Varaždin on June 7, after which information was published about the continuation of preparations and arrival at the base in Alexandria. These details provide the sporting framework for the Fiery Zone announcement, because the event is not only an entertainment program in Zagreb and Rijeka, but is directly linked to the beginning of Croatia's new appearance on the world stage. In that sense, HNS is trying to institutionally organize the fan energy that is created around the national team during major tournaments in any case.
For visitors, the most important practical information will nevertheless be that related to accessibility, times and program. Since entry has been announced as free, interest could be considerable, especially on the day of the match against England and in the event of good results in the group. HNS has announced that it will publish more information soon, so it is expected that the Federation's official channels ahead of June 17 will provide more precise instructions for Cvjetni Square, Tvornica kulture and Rijeka's Pogon. Until those details are published, the confirmed core of the announcement remains clear: from June 17, Zagreb gets an official open Fiery Zone on Cvjetni Square, and alongside it additional indoor fan programming in Zagreb and Rijeka. This means that watching Croatia's matches at the 2026 World Cup is being organized across multiple locations, with a combination of broadcasts, entertainment and public gathering.
Sources: - Croatian Football Federation – official announcement of the HNS Fiery Zone on Zagreb's Cvjetni Square and additional zones in Zagreb and Rijeka (link) - HNS.team – official page of the Croatia senior national team with information about the group, the next match and the squad for the 2026 World Cup (link) - FIFA – official match schedule of the 2026 World Cup, including Croatia's matches in Group L (link) - FIFA – official overview of Group L at the 2026 World Cup and the context of Croatia's opponents (link) - England Football – preview of the England and Croatia match with an overview of earlier head-to-head matches at major competitions (link)