In the North End, grown men cried. Strangers kissed. One man grabbed a young woman he had never met and swung her around as she laughed.

Seconds after Italian defender Fabio Grosso clinched the Azzurri's World Cup victory with a penalty kick -- answering prayers of Italy soccer fans worldwide -- pandemonium struck Hanover Street.

(Text by Maria Cramer, Globe Staff, and Stephanie Conduff, Globe Correspondent.)