After a spectacular homecoming celebration in Zagreb on Monday, where over half a million people gathered to welcome the Croatian national football team who achieved historic success by winning silver medal in the World Cup in Russia, celebrations are planned around the country as footballers return to their home cities.

Croatia’s team captain, and best player of the Russia World Cup, Luka Modric, and his teammates, Danijel Subasic, Sime Vrsaljko and Dominik Livakovic, will arrive on a sailing ship to the main port of the Adriatic city of Zadar this evening.

From there, they will proceed to the ancient Forum, Zadar’s central square, where the main celebration is organised, local news portal ezadar reported.

Croatia’s second city of Split has also organised homecoming celebration, and Ivan Perisic, Ivan Strinic, Ante Rebic, and Lovre Kalinic will be welcomed by football supporters on the city’s main promenade, the Riva, Dalmacijadanas portal reported.

According to the police estimates from Monday evening, a crowd of over 550,000 football supporters greeted the Croatian national team in Zagreb, including more than 110,000 ecstatic fans gathered in the city’s main square to welcome back their heroes, and few hundreds of thousands who lined the entire 20-kilometre route the open-top bus that took footballers from the airport to the city centre.

The celebrations in the capital passed without incidents, the police having detained only five persons for disorderly conduct. Some 80 people were assisted by the ambulance services because of dehydration and heat exhaustion.

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