For a Moment, Underdog Croatia Basks in World Cup Joy

DUBROVNIK, Croatia — When Croatia’s national soccer team scored the goal that took it past England and into its first World Cup final, delirious fans lit flares and burned tires outside the towering limestone walls of the old city in Dubrovnik.

The euphoria of the moment lifted the spirits of a nation disillusioned on a number of fronts, like the slow transition into the European Union, a stagnant economy, political deadlock and even the source of its current joy — soccer.