Future stars: Children of the KMG football club, where over 60 children belonging to marginalised families, get together to play football. R. Ragu more-in With France lifting the World Cup, the football fever that had gripped the city for a month has come to an end. While French supporters, including those at Alliance Francaise celebrated the victory, the city saw huge support for Croatia, who punched way above their weight in the tournament. Eleven-year-old Swaminathan and his friends were left disappointed after their favourite team, Brazil didn’t make it to the final this time. Ardent fans of the team, the boys refused to watch any more matches until they watched the Croatian striker Mario Mandžuki? and Ivan Perisic lead their team to the finals after beating England. “That was unbelievable. We never expected this team to come this far. We are now rooting for their win,” he said. The boys, who study in a government school in Choolai, wrapped up all their daily chores early to watch the finals. But before that they had their own match. “We all sit together to watch the match,” said R. Bhaskar, coach of the KMG football club, where over 60 children belonging to marginalised families, get together to play their favourite sport — football. They were all rooting for Croatia. “That team took us by surprise. They come from such a small country and their hard work is evident. We really wanted them to win,” he said. While 21-year-old football player Heaven Roy Leon too was left disappointed, like most others, after Brazil's exit, he predicted that France would lift the trophy. He was delighted to see the teenager Mbappe score the fourth goal for France, keeping his own dreams to be a successful footballer alive.

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