Three host countries, 16 cities, 12 groups featuring a record 48 countries and a total of 104 matches - these are the known figures for the upcoming World Cup so far. Until we know the number of goals scored, the average number of kilometres run per match, the number of fouls, yellow and red cards given, but most importantly - who will lift the trophy in the final match, statistics wouldn't be statistics without looking into statistical databases, exploring tables and graphs, and thus providing a statistical introduction to what is probably the most watched sporting and global event of the year. So let’s get started!
What do we know about the hosts?
The USA, Canada and Mexico have joined their forces and are hosting the World Cup from 11 June to 19 July. Mariachi music will play, people will toast with beer and tequila, eat American fast food in stadiums and fan zones, and certainly buy some maple syrup as a souvenir from Canada. Whether there will be time and money left for additional shopping is up to each person to decide. Considering that we regularly import products from the host countries into our country, let's also mention the data on foreign trade in goods for 2025.
Back in 2018, when we found out who would host this year's World Cup, many people started making plans to travel to one of the matches of the Croatian national team. As the date approached and a place in the world championship was secured, the plans began to take shape.
Although we don’t know at this moment how many Croatian fans will actually travel to North America in June and July, we checked how many Croatians have travelled to the USA, Canada and Mexico in the organisation of Croatian travel agencies in the last ten years.
We are sure that this year our destinations will also count overnights stays of tourists from the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
We were also interested in data on population migration.
What do we know about our rivals?
Whereas the World Cup begins on 11 June, our national team opens the competition only on 17 June with a match against
England. Many will say: „our old rivals that we know very well“, this is a national team that has been waiting for a trophy and „the coming home of football“ for years. Although England plays independently in the world of football, separate from other countries of the United Kingdom, for the purposes of this presentation, we checked the value of foreign trade with the United Kingdom and found that export greatly exceeds import. In 2025, we imported goods from the United Kingdom worth 137.7 million euro, whereas at the same time we exported goods worth 274.3 million euro.
We'll leave it to the players and football experts to read the English national team's game, but for the purposes of this text, we've looked into the traditional habits of the English. Since drinking tea and eating fish&chips is mentioned in every guide, we checked how much of these products is produced in Croatia. In 2024, we produced 55 tonnes of tea, 30 574 tonnes of processed fish and 133 862 tons of potatoes, hopefully enough to celebrate our victory!
Next up is the national team of
Panama. This Central American country, best known to many for the Panama Canal, is also known as a major producer of quality coffee - probably Croatians’ favourite drink, so let's mention that in 2025, we imported a total of 19 981 tonnes of coffee. Will we calmly sip our coffee after the match on 24 June and discuss the footballing brilliance of our players, or will we calculate how we can get through the group stage?
We will know for sure whether we are going to the next stage of the competition after the match with the last opponent in the group stage, where the national team of
Ghana is waiting for us. This African country with access to the Atlantic Ocean is among the world's leading producers of cocoa, another food item that Croatians really love. In 2024, we produced 678 tonnes of cocoa.
What do we know about ourselves?
One thing is for sure, our players will take to the field extremely motivated and in the best shape possible. Whether they are playing a leading role in the starting 11 or on the bench ready to take on the task entrusted to them at any moment, we have no doubt that they will do their best. The same heartfelt approach is expected from the fans. As in previous competitions, the Croatian national team matches are a time for togetherness, positive mood and loud support, which will certainly not be lacking on the numerous terraces of restaurants and bars
[1], the number of which, according to the statistical register for 2026, amounts to more than 11.5 thousand (and the glasses will certainly not remain empty). In 2024, we produced 3 227 545 hectolitres of beer, 3 825 001 hectolitres of non-alcoholic refreshing drinks and 3 060 811 hectolitres of mineral water.
We hope that after the group stage, there will be many more matches in which the Croatian national team will participate. What everyone dreams about is the final match scheduled for 19 July, lifting the trophy and singing "Lijepa naša" as the final shot of the championship. All those who have been following our national football team for the past 35 years know that this scenario is not impossible at all. So how can we end this text but with some more statistics. Since declaring its independence, Croatia has played in six out of a total of eight world championships, and in doing so, it has won two bronze medals and one silver. Even the biggest sceptics would bet on our excellent placement. We’re all in on a win, how about you?
[1] registered restaurants and bars for serving drinks
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