Croatia's supporters are warming up for tonight's match and the recognisable red and white chequered jerseys have flooded Kaliningrad and the amtosphere is brilliant. Thousands of Croatian supporters have traveled to Kaliningrad to support the national team.
The British GQ ranked the Best World Cup 2018 Kit and ranked the "Super Eagles’ (Nigeria's) kit atop the list, with the magazine describing it as eccentric and off-the-wall in the best possible way.”
The kit is reputed to be the most beautiful of all the national teams to play in the world cup in Russia, and had racked up 3 million pre-orders before it was even released.
Croatia has its checked red and white at second place. GQ wrote on its website.
"Inspired by its chessboard coat-of-arms, Croatia’s eye-catching kit is something we’d be comfortable sporting both on and off the field, making it a thing of rare beauty in football jerseydom. From a people who gave us the cravat, we expected no less. Checkmate," the GQ Magazine, UK said on its website.
Croatia and Nigeria are in Group D together with Argentina and Iceland.
The best result which the Croatian squad achieved in World Cups was third place in France 1998.
During the last championships in Brazil in 2014, Croatia did not make it past the group phase of the contest.
Ahead of the first match of the national team on Saturday evening, Croatians who are ardent football fans are organising watching the match outdoors and in cafes in main squares in all major cities and streets and cars are ornamented by Croatian flags and red and white chequered decor.
The matches to played in Kalinigrad include Croatia's match today against Nigeria, six days later, Serbia is to tackle Switzerland while on June 25 Spain will play against Morocco and on 28 June England will play against Belgium.
On the days that matches are to be played, Kaliningrad expects more than 45 charter flights from Zagreb, London, Brussels, Casablanca, Belgrade and Madrid with the most flights planned to come from Zagreb and Brussels.
Of the four matches to be played in Kaliningrad it is expected that today's Croatia-Nigeria match will attract the most tourists, Kaliningrad region's minister for culture and tourism, Andrei Yermak said.