The procession is due to start at 7:15pm, with fans gathering at Civic Garden before moving towards Ferris Plaza. At its centre will be a Croatian checkerboard flag larger than a football field, giving the parade a visual scale to match the occasion.
For Croatia, the event offers more than a pre-match celebration. It creates a public show of identity before attention switches to the pitch, with supporters carrying the country’s colours through a host city preparing for one of the tournament’s high-profile fixtures.
The parade is being coordinated by the Croatian Fan Embassy CFE - Mi Hrvatsi, which has arranged the event as a meeting point for travelling supporters. The Red Dirt Riders Equestrian Drill Team from Texarkana are also expected to lead the opening, adding a distinctly local element to Croatia’s football traditions.
That blend of Croatian culture and Texas spectacle should give the fixture a character of its own. England’s presence, meanwhile, means the atmosphere will build around a meeting between two established European football nations rather than a routine group-stage occasion.
Once the procession ends at Ferris Plaza, the focus will turn to Wednesday’s game at Dallas Stadium. The parade cannot influence the tactical battle, but it can shape the mood surrounding it, with Croatian fans given a prominent platform before the teams meet.
The next storyline will be whether the energy created across Dallas carries into the stadium. By then, the flags and horses will have made way for the players, and Croatia and England will have to provide the decisive moments.