World Cup 2018: The Biggest Croatian Celebs and Famous French Fans to Watch During the Final
Soccer fans from England and Belgium were left disappointed this week, as their beloved national teams suffered losses in the semifinal round of the 2018 World Cup. But two powerhouse squads remain -- France and Croatia will go head to head on Saturday for World Cup glory, and their fans around the world will be rooting them on.
Despite the somewhat unexpected championship matchup -- Croatia was only given a seven percent chance to make the final game, and three percent to win, at the start of the tournament -- a surprising number of celebs and famous athletes have a rooting interest in either the Croatian or French team, due to patriotic pride or family heritage. Here's a look at a few of the famous French fans and Croatian celebs to be watching during the final showdown of World Cup 2018:
Timeless star Goran Visnjic, who was born in Croatia, has been cheering on his home country since the start of the tournament, posting a throwback pic in a Croatian kit, as well as a map showing his homeland's diminutive size as they took on host nation Russia in the quarterfinals.
Good luck Croatia today! Go and get that World Cup...!!! ⚽️🇭🇷⚽️ #Croatia#WorldCup2018#hrvatskapic.twitter.com/mVTbnRWR30
— Goran Visnjic (@goranvisnjic) June 16, 2018
Yes, that little blue dot in the lower left corner is Croatia... Well done guys... well done...😊 England, here we come...! 😉 #croatia#WorldCup#FootballWorldCup2018#nogometpic.twitter.com/yiQdhkCQuI
— Goran Visnjic (@goranvisnjic) July 8, 2018
And the 45-year-old star is more than ready for the finals, sharing "France, here we come.." following the Croatians' semifinal victory over England.
France, here we come... 😉👍💪🇭🇷⚽️ 🇫🇷 #worldcup2018#croatia#vatrenipic.twitter.com/innlmS1s0q
— Goran Visnjic (@goranvisnjic) July 11, 2018
Veep star Anna Chlumsky, whose mother is Croatian, has also used her Twitter account to show support for "Vatreni," sharing simply "Wahoooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" when the Croats defeated England in the semifinals.
Vatreni! My heart can't take this! @FIFAWorldCup ❤️🇭🇷!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
— Anna Chlumsky (@AnnaChlumsky) July 1, 2018
🤟🇭🇷Wahoooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! @FIFAWorldCup
— Anna Chlumsky (@AnnaChlumsky) July 11, 2018
30 Rock star and stand-up comedian Judah Friedlander also has Croatian heritage on his mother's side, and shared his support for the team after the semifinal win.
"Much love to england, that was a tough result - but my mom's croatian-american, so im rooting for croatia," Friedlander wrote. "Congrats on an amazing win croatia! next it's time win over france in a rematch of the 1998 semi-final. #hrvastka#Croatia#ENGCRO."
much love to england, that was a tough result - but my mom's croatian-american, so im rooting for croatia. congrats on an amazing win croatia! next it's time win over france in a rematch of the 1998 semi-final. #hrvastka#Croatia#ENGCRO
— Judah Friedlander (@JudahWorldChamp) July 11, 2018
Shark Tank star Robert Herjavec was born in Croatia before his family emigrated to Canada, and the businessman has delighted in cheering on his home country throughout their thrilling World Cup run. He celebrated with a hilarious pic on a British Airways flight on Jul. 11, after Vatreni defeated the Three Lions in the semifinals.
"Just landed on British Airways back home !" Herjavec captioned a grinning pic with a glum stewardess. "Finals here we come - if we are nothing else we are resilient, us Croatians !! #CRO#WorldCup2018@lukamodric10 so proud ! My BA crew not so happy !"
😀😀😀🇭🇷🇭🇷🇭🇷 just landed on British Airways back home ! Finals here we come - if we are nothing else we are resilient, us Croatians !! #CRO#WorldCup2018@lukamodric10 so proud ! My BA crew not so happy ! pic.twitter.com/o3gKpk8Bsf
— Robert Herjavec (@robertherjavec) July 12, 2018
Herjavec's wife, Kym, even had the couple's adorable twins kitted out for the victory, sharing a pic of "The cheering squad 🇭🇷 ⚽️," 2-month-old Hudson and Haven.
A post shared by Kym Herjavec (@kymherjavec5678) on Jul 7, 2018 at 12:17pm PDT
More stars who have shown their support for their Croatian heritage and the national team's unexpected World Cup run include Days of Our Lives vet Patrick Muldoon and MMA fighter Stipe Miocic.
A post shared by Patrick Muldoon (@thepatrickmuldoon) on Jul 11, 2018 at 10:09pm PDT
To all my dear LA Brit friends - all 2 of you - all have to say is .... there is always next year ... I mean 4 years from now - GREAT GAME though !❤️💕🏴💕🏴🇭🇷🏴🇭🇷🏴🇭🇷 https://t.co/6oQflp1dU1
— Patrick Muldoon (@MuldoonPatrick) July 12, 2018
They did it!!!! BOOM! #CRO#WorldCup
— Stipe Miocic (@stipemiocic) July 11, 2018
On the French side, Guardians of the Galaxy star Pom Klementieff celebrated her home country's final draw with a glamour shot of her holding a massive soccer ball. "Waiting for the final of the World Cup like... #allezlesbleus."
Waiting for the final of the World Cup like... 🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷⚽️⚽️⚽️ #allezlesbleus🔵⚪️🔴 pic.twitter.com/o8g03jRBtu
— Pom Klementieff (@PomKlementieff) July 10, 2018
DJ David Guetta shared his celebratory spirit after France beat Belgium in the semifinals, posting several pics of the celebrations in Paris with the caption, "La plus grosse fête de tous les temps se prépare."
La plus grosse fête de tous les temps se prépare 🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷
A post shared by David Guetta (@davidguetta) on Jul 10, 2018 at 6:48pm PDT
Jurassic World star Omar Sy posted a pic of his French squad after they made the final match, writing, "ON-EST-EN-FINALE !!!!!"
ON-EST-EN-FINALE !!!!! @equipedefrance 🙌🏿
A post shared by Omar Sy (@omarsyofficial) on Jul 10, 2018 at 1:29pm PDT
Many pro athletes also shared their support for "Les Bleus," including Joel Embiid and Tony Parker.
ALLEZ LES BLEUS!!!!!
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) July 10, 2018
FINALE !!! 🇫🇷 🇫🇷🇫🇷 @equipedefrance#CDM18#WorldCup18
— Tony Parker (@tonyparker) July 10, 2018
And the New York Knicks celebrated the Croatia-France finals with a friendly shot of teammates Mario Hezonja and Frank Ntilikina, who will be rivals for the day when their home countries take on each other in the finals.
THE #WORLDCUP FINAL IS SET 🏆
🇭🇷 x 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/ks7fV1HJg4— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) July 11, 2018
Check out the gallery below to see even more celeb soccer fans who have rooted on their countrymen in the 2018 World Cup!
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