Thousands of soccer fans celebrated through the night in Toronto after Italy's victory over France in the World Cup final.

Minutes after Italy defeated France 5-3 in a tense penalty shootout, crowds took to the streets, waving flags and honking horns.

Thousands of soccer fans streamed into the streets of Toronto's Little Italy to celebrate.
(Robin Rowland/CBC)

Some of the largest crowds were on St. Clair Avenue, where crowds of Italians had already gathered for the Italian festival Corso Italia.

Following the game, the street was awash with revellers screaming, blowing whistles and hugging each other in celebration.

Many also flocked to Toronto's Little Italy, where police cordoned off nine blocks of College Street.

About 35,000 fans watched the game at Rogers Centre before taking to the streets.

The win was reminiscent of Italy's last World Cup victory in 1982, when similar celebrations of Italian pride erupted along St. Clair.

"It was just as exhilarating for sure. I think now they've multiplied the crowd," said Marisa Agostini. "Italians wanted to see Italy win for a long time. They'd been waiting and waiting. A well-deserved win."

As the sun began to set Sunday night and celebrations showed no sign of dwindling, police issued a notice to the public asking them to stay away from St. Clair Avenue and begin making their way home.

Celebrations could be seen and heard until early morning.

Meanwhile, it was quiet on King Street where about 1,000 French fans had congregated to watch the game.

Some said their disappointment had been magnified by losing to Italy of all teams.