Norway, France fans pack FIFA Fan Festival ahead of World Cup match

BOSTON — Excited fans packed the FIFA Fan Festival in City Hall Plaza Friday afternoon ahead of the Norway vs. France match at Boston Stadium.

“This is our first time. We ordered tickets as soon as it went live, we’ve been talking about coming here for a year,” Jose Escobar, a Norway fan, said.

Escobar said his friend of more than 30 years is visiting from Norway with his family for the match. Together, they’re celebrating their love of the game and their team.

“t’s just a great opportunity for everybody from different nations to come in, especially here in Boston it’s a great city,” Escobar said.

The visitors from Norway said they’re loving the experience so far. “It’s very fun and it’s very good to be here... They are so welcoming and it’s very fun.” When asked their favorite so far, the kids responded, “Raising Cane’s... I really like chipotle.”

Meanwhile, France fans Ved and Dev Patel are visiting from Charlotte, North Carolina.

“I got into Boston, like, three weeks ago for my internship and it’s been amazing. I don’t know if Boston’s a fun city because of this, or it’s just in general, but I’ve been loving it so far,” Ved said.

The two said they were born in France, so that’s where their loyalty lies. Part of their love for the World Cup is that anything can happen.

“You never know what’s going to happen. Yesterday I think Germany lost against Ecuador, that was surprising so it’s just so unexpected,” Ved said.

“You don’t know who’s going to win. It might be a better team, you don’t know who’s gonna win,” Dev said.

Many of them said they welcome anyone to take part in this celebration of cultures and fandom.

“We want to encourage people to come out, enjoy the World Cup, get a good idea of what it means and why it’s such a popular sport around the world, it brings everybody together,” Escobar said.

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