The crowd packed into Crossroads Food Court in MSU's International Center didn't just observe a heated match Sunday — it became part of a World Cup final experience.

The crowd of about 400, consisted of a mixture of fans from varying cultures speaking different languages.

While fans at MSU from all over the globe came to watch the game, Sunday's match separated them into only two factions, French and Italian. At the beginning of the match, each member of the crowd had a different opinion of the game's outcome and a reason for rooting for each team.

"I'm a big Italy fan," Thomas Gallant said. "They play more as a team. They don't have structured defense and offense; they play both together, so I like that. I think they will win."

For international fans, the tournament has been rife with emotion as teams represent a certain sense of patriotic pride for their respective countries.

The food court's German fans rooted against Italy, who defeated the country in the semi-finals.

"I mean, Italy played Germany," said Diana Schmit, a Germany native. "I have to go France."

The game was a roller coaster, with Italy's Marco Materazzi and France's veteran leader Zinedine Zidane both scoring goals in the first half of play. In the second half, France took control of the match, putting pressure on Italy.

The drama reached its peak with the match ending in a 1-1 tie after four draining halves of regular play and overtime. The crowd in the food court appeared just as exhausted, nervous and excited as the players in Germany, and they now had to prepare for a shoot-out.

After several strikes by both teams during the shoot-out, the match concluded with the game ending miss by France. A burst of cheers overtook half of the food court while an equal amount of shocked stares settled from others.

"This is great," said Italy fan Rebecca Lewis. "I couldn't be happier with the ending, and I think Italy really deserved to win."