After the third place play-off of FIFA World Cup on Saturday evening, Lucknow football fans are all geared up to make their Sunday a fun day with today's final match between France and Croatia . In order to make the event grand, a lot of cafes and restaurants in the city have planned live screening of the FIFA finals for football enthusiasts. A special area has been created at Purab Pashchim Restaurant (PPR) on Sitapur Road where a huge screen has been put up for the live streaming of the FIFA finals. "We opened up a section for the screening of sports events like these, recently," says owner Umang Mishra, adding, "We were getting a lot of requests for the live screening of the FIFA World Cup final match, and I being a huge football freak, was game for it. FIFA finals without good food is incomplete, so we have also planned a special menu for the evening today. I feel that such events will help us form a good bond with our customers."At Cafe By Default, in Hazratganj, evenings witnessed a jam-packed restaurant with live streaming of FIFA matches being organised everyday. For the finals too, the restaurant has made special arrangements for its patrons. Charu Samarth, the owner, says, "The craze for football is at its peak right now among Lucknowites. Seeing that we have organised a special screening of the FIFA finals."Charu adds, "Sunday evening is going to be a fun-filled one. We have also prepared a menu especially for the finals which people can enjoy while watching the match at our place. We already have a lot of reservations for today evening from football lovers who want to watch the finals. It’s more fun when you watch the match with friends and good food."With the football World Cup being the hot topic all these days, the Planter’s Tea Bar & Book Cafe in Vikas Khand used to be packed to its capacity with youngsters watching the matches live which was being screened there everyday. Today being the finals, the owner Vasu Gupta has geared himself for a larger crowd that he is expecting at the restaurant in the evening. "Croatia qualifying for the finals has taken everyone by surprise so the excitement of the finals has increased. I am expecting a full house today evening for the finals and have loaded up on food and snacks to cater to the crowd. We have been screening the FIFA matches and we witnessed a full house everyday, today I am expecting even more."Skyotel by Royal Sky in Butler Colony, has made special arrangements for the screening of France versus Croatia final match after more than two dozen people requested them to do so. "A special screening of the FIFA finals wasn't even in our plan but after getting back to back requests, we decided to screen the match," shares Dnyanesh Mahamure, the general manager of the restaurant.Akhil Goyal, owner of Aura Lounge and Bar in Gomti Nagar, claims that good food and drinks make a match special. "After cricket, football has become a happening sport in Lucknow. Therefore, after several demands for a screening of the FIFA final match, we put up a huge screen and also introduced several offers where one can enjoy the match with drinks and good food," says Akhil.And while the restaurants and cafes in the city are preparing to host football enthusiasts, plans are being made by people to watch the finals at one of them. Shubham Singh, a post-graduation student and a French team supporter in FIFA World Cup, has watched all the matches at home. But for the finals, he and his friends have planned to go to a restaurant and watch the match. "Since my favourite team has made it to the finals, I have decided to make the evening special and watch the match with my friends at a restaurant. Watching Kylian Mbappé's performance on a screen bigger than my TV, along with good food, is I feel the best way to watch the FIFA finals," he sums up.Not just the guys, female football fans have also made plans to enjoy the FIFA finals at an eatery. Komal Rastogi, a software engineer, has already booked a table for herself to cheer for Croatia at a cafe. "Since it’s a Sunday and the timing of the match is also suitable for me to go out, I thought of enjoying the finals with food and drinks rather than wasting the weekend at home," says Komal.— Adnaan Rizvi

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