A sea of red and white took over Rusty’s Sports Lounge to watch Croatia take on France in the final match of the World Cup.
The Okanagan Croatian Club received a donation from Maryann Zubcic-Gill for $2,000 that allowed them to rent out the venue, uniting fans and Croatians for the final match. It wasn’t the victory they were cheering for, France won its second World Cup 4-2 on Sunday morning.
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“Number two is awesome, it’s nothing to be unhappy about, we are very proud,” Zubcic-Gill said.
Second place did not mean second best to the fans, incoming president of the Okanagan Croatian Club, Kate Sarac says this is still a win for Croatia.
“It was gut wrenching to watch,” Sarac said. “Second is still wonderful, we are so proud of our team, they made our whole nation proud to be Croatian.”
Related: France doubles up Croatia 4-2 to win World Cup
The fans were still smiling while watching their team shed tears on the screen.
“This game didn’t even mean much for us, we are just proud they made it this far. I won’t ever forget where I come from, I am really proud of all of these players,” Ivan Haluska said.” I was hoping we were going to celebrate but now Croatia is being talked about all over the world, people now know where it is.”
The Okanagan Croatian Club welcomes all Croatians that want to join and attend their events.
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