Proud Croatians make presence known during World Cup in North Texas

With a population about half that of North Texas, Croatia is one of the smallest countries in this year's World Cup. 

But here locally, its supporters have been impossible to miss.

From the sea of red-and-white checkers marching through downtown Dallas to enthusiastic fans filling the stands at Dallas Stadium, Croatians came to North Texas ready to make their presence known.

"We are proud," one Croatian woman said. "Our country is very small, and we can attend this big game in the world. So we feel very proud."

Among them were local soccer fans cheering on FC Dallas' Petar Musa and developer Jeff Blackard.

Blackard has spent decades building ties to Croatia, even creating Adriatica in McKinney to honor the country's people and culture. This morning, he met up with Davor Suker.

"Who was the Golden Boot," he said. "Yeah, Golden Boot for the 1998 World Cup for Croatia. We had a good conversation, wished each other luck."

Local Croatian fans who watched the match at an Arlington sports bar said one of the most exciting moments was Musa scoring a goal for Croatia.

"That was the biggest highlight for me because I thought, oh, how proud he has to be and his family too, to be in his home area and to score a goal," Margaret Marsic Gariota said.

"It's a proud moment that three of our players are representing their country," FC Dallas head coach Eric Quill said. "I mean, you couldn't ask for the stars to align any better."

Although Croatia didn't take home the win, fans said it was a great time for all.

"Sure, we lost by a couple of points, but it was well worth being here for it," fan Jack Gariota said.

Now, the team is headed to Toronto to take on Panama.