B.C. soccer fans excited for dramatic World Cup final

It's a rematch 20 years in the making.

Soccer fans across B.C. are getting excited for the FIFA World Cup finals on Sunday, where France and Croatia will settle an old score from the 1998 tournament, when France eliminated Croatia in the semifinals and went on to win the championship.

"Depression and grieving hit the country for over a year," saidMarela Klepo, a Vancouver Croatian super-fan. "People were not happy."

"But this time, we're back. We've got the players. We've got the tactics."

But Simon Lebot has confidence in his beloved Bleus, a solid team he says that seems to have bonded like glue throughout the tournament.

"They play together [as a team]," Lebot said. "It's a group of friends who seem to be enjoying their life together."

Upsets and underdogs

Croatia's success has been one of the biggest stories in a tournament full of surprising twists and turns. Heavyweights like Germany and Brazil have been eliminated far earlier than expected, and Croatia a country of only four million people now finds itself in the running for the biggest title in international soccer.

Michael McColl, managing editor of AFTN.ca, says that sort of drama has made this an especially exciting tournament, even by World Cup standards, capturing the interest of people who might not otherwise care.

"Because so many of the underdogs or the "lesser"countries have done so well, it's been a World Cup where you don't know who's going to beat who," McColl said.

"It's thrown everything for a loopand pretty much every game is up for grabs."

Frances Riley of Prince George has watched every World Cup game since 2002. She loves the tournament for its drama both on the pitch and off.

"It's this montage of 32 teams at the outset, and it all whittles down to one team at the end," she said. "It's flags and it's anthems and it's national pride."

"I love the pageantry of it."

International pride on display

The allure of the underdog story has made Croatia an easy team for many to get behind.

Kate Sarac, incoming president of the Okanagan Croatian Cultural Club, was in Croatia for the fateful 1998 game, and says the air is electric with Croatian enthusiasm even in Kelowna.

"We're ready to give some payback this Sunday," she said.

But France isn't without its share of supporters. Pierre Touzel, of the France Football Club, says the streets of Vancouver have felt like France all week and he's expecting to ride that national pride through the weekend, with Bastille Day being celebrated on Saturday.

"It will be a big challenge with Croatia," Touzel said. "Don't get me wrong.They have a very good team. But we are ready."

Anyone's game

Despite the morning start times, the tournament has captured eyeballs across the province, and Sunday will be no exception.

The super-fans are, naturally, confident in their team's ability to take home the title. But the more measured McColl says anything could happen.

"Sometimes with so much at stake, you maybe are not going to get an entertaining game," he said. "That is not going to be the case between these two teams."

But regardless of the outcome, it's already a high water mark for international football.

"[This tournament] seems to have really captured everyone's imagination," McColl said.

"[These teams] play exciting, attractive football. They like to attack. There's some players that they're going to be talking about for years to come."

The France versus Croatia final airs at 8 am PT on Sunday, July 15. The third place game, played between Belgium and England, takes place at 7 am PT on Saturday, July 14.

With files from CBC Radio One's BC Today, Daybreak North and The Early Edition.

Read more from CBC British Columbia