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“We were kind of scared because Croatia had a great World Cup, but we did it!” he said.

“We are very proud, we love the French, the French team, the French country, the French people — everything is great,” said another fan, Chris Boilah.

Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images

Boilah, who’s from the south of France, cited Kylian Mbappe’s goal in the 65th minute that put France up 4-1 as the moment when he knew his team would win.

“When we have four, it’s complete, it’s the winning time,” he said.

Soccer fans across Canada packed into bars, parks and living rooms to watch the thrilling, six-goal final.

In Croatian Parish Park in Mississauga, Ont., pride overshadowed disappointment at the result as fans waved massive Croatian flags, while fire crackers let out streams of red, white and blue smoke as soon as the match ended.

Despite their team’s defeat, fans said they were feeling fantastic after their country’s first-ever World Cup Final appearance.

When we have four, it's complete, it's the winning time

“I’ve never seen this many Croatians here in my life…. We made the final, nobody expected it for such a small county,” said Peter Ganza, who is Croatian-Canadian. “I’m just glad we’re here.”

“We are so happy because this is such a close community. This is such a great win, even though we didn’t win at the end,” said Ganza’s mother Ana, a Croatian poet and teacher.

In the Toronto area, about 10,000 people list Croatian as their first language, according to Statistics Canada. Half of that population live in Mississauga.

While the crowd in the park began the match with exuberant cheers, the red-and-white clad fans became progressively less talkative as the match went on.