Well, at least the uncertainty is over; we now know the make-up of the final. Like others, I thought France would be too good for Spain but, surprisingly, that's not how it turned out. And although being partisan, one had to root for England, the tactics employed on the night (or mainly in the second half!) led instead to their downfall and a trip to Miami for a game that neither team will be at all interested in. That third place final will surely contain previously unused squad members, and may, therefore, seriously undermine those carefully constructed fantasy teams whose managers had a very different outcome in mind. The final itself will at least showcase some of the best players in the world, so fantasy points are still on offer. Just don't ask me for a prediction because I really don't know.

Off the pitch, although Ken extended his lead over Mick with Karen just keeping in touch in third, that could all change over the course of the last two matches. Waiting for the leaders to adopt a Tuchel approach, are Jenni in fourth and Sandra in fifth. Both moved up a place at the expense of Jon who dropped down two. Michelle (despite her Tuchel Vision) improved by one to join Brian in seventh, while Simon sits alone in ninth.

The transfer window for the two remaining games is open and will close at 20:30 on Saturday 18 July. Good luck and let's hope it's a good final.

On we go!

Unlike Morocco, Belgium, Norway and Switzerland, England aren't packing their bags and heading home, they're off to Atlanta for what is bound to be a charged semi-final encounter with Argentina. This is all nail-biting stuff. And, yet again, it's no different in fantasyland. Managers are currently faced with a heatwave, which is adding to our already affected sleep patterns, so concentration levels may be causing loss of focus. Just like a goalkeeper who concedes after fumbling a shot! 

The outcome of the tournament remains difficult to call and that is mirrored in our own competition. Ken has held on to his lead but Mick (who has clearly kept his focus) has jumped three places to move into second with the round's highest score. His progress means Karen, Jon and Jenni are all pushed back a place. The remaining four teams haven't moved. 

Book your places on your sofas for Tuesday and Wednesday evening. It's going to be a bumpy ride!

The transfer window is now open and will close at 18:30 on Tuesday 14 July ahead of the France v Spain semi-final.

Four weeks in and are we really any closer to knowing who is going to win? I mean the World Cup itself, but the same applies to our own competition!

What we do know in respect of this Trump-sponsored fiesta, is that it is not going to be any of the host nations - well unless he decides to annex one of the countries with teams left in the Quarter Finals. This is Trump I'm talking about, so anything is possible! As the so-called superstars (e.g. Ronaldo, Neymar and Salah) wipe away the tears and exit the building, there is a particularly interesting gathering of European nations left in the competition. Would you have put your money on a resurgent Belgium or a normally lacklustre Switzerland before the first whistle?

The destination of the SITF trophy is equally uncertain. Early doors saw Sandra take the lead. Then it was Ken but he was soon deposed by Jon with, after the previous round, Karen on his coat-tails. After the Round of 16 Karen has held her place in second, but both Jon and Jenni lost ground as Ken rebounded to take a fragile lead. As with the real thing, there's all to play for!

88 games played, only 16 more to go.  Now who is your money on? Still one of the original favourites - Spain, France or Brazil? Or is there still a nation left in who is capable of causing an upset? Like Cape Verde almost did last night, or rather in the early hours. At least it meant I was awake to see the ISS fly over in a beautifully clear sky!

So, back in fantasy land, Jon continues to lead, but only by one point from Karen. She has shaken off Jenni who has dropped back to third. Ken remains fourth with Mick fast closing up in 5th. Up two places in the previous round, he has now moved up one more with the highest points tally of the round. Sandra and Brian each drop back one as a result while Michelle (Tuchel Vision just isn't doing it - on, or off the pitch!) and Simon haven't moved.

The tournament moves into the Round of 16 at 18:00 this evening (Saturday) when Canada take on Morocco. Two transfers can be made until 17:00. That should be enough time to remove any remaining England defenders!

As the teams sort themselves out before the Round of 32, and Scotland finally pack their bags and head home, Karen moved up two places to share second spot with Jenni who, with the highest score of the round, jumped four places. But it is Jon, with his own improvement of two places, who has forged his way into the lead. Ken fell back three places to 4th, while Sandra stayed put in 5th. Coming from different directions, Mick and Brian share sixth, the former gaining two places and the latter falling back four. Michelle also lost ground in 8th while Simon, despite the second highest score of the round, continues to occupy 9th.

The Round of the Last 32 begins tonight when South Africa go head-to-head with one of the hosts, Canada. Transfers to prepare your teams for the knockout phase (some need it more than others!) can be made until 1900 this evening (Sunday).

As England's tournament plans started to wash away in the Boston rainstorm, so did their more ardent fantasy followers. Sandra's Kane's time has come! and Michelle's Tuchel Vision both dropped out of the top four, as did Jenni. Only Brian and his stalwart Arctic Donkeys kept his place in the top three, actually moving up a place to second. He is now sandwiched between Ken's Global Flyers, who were the round's top scorers and moved up four places to lead, and Jon's The Unbungoables, who also moved up four into third. Karen gained two places to complete the top four, while Mick also moved up one, leaving Simon in ninth.

So, where does a fantasy manager go from here? Some teams know they are already going home and may use squad players in their final group game. Those teams certain to progress may well do the same. Can those teams with something left to play for, including a top-eight third place finish, take the risk of doing the same in order to rest some players? Oh, the uncertainty! If you can decide, two transfers can be made before 1900 this evening.

So, this is how you want to spend your Summer? Forgetting the rest of the TV scheduling; re-arranging mealtimes, setting the alarm clocks or just staying up until you fall asleep watching Trump-branded football miles away! Welcome to the World Cup.

The end of the First Round of the Group Stage sees Sandra, with the aptly named 'Kane's time has come!', jump to the top of the table with Jenni and Brian in close pursuit.

It's time to tinker - if you want to - and you have until 1600 this evening to make TWO transfers. Perhaps it's time for an Australian goalkeeper, an Iranian defender, a Brighton, sorry Swedish midfielder or an Argentine legend up front. The points are completely up to date as at the end of the First Round in the Group Stage.

What a final week! So much to celebrate. It wasn't just SITF that was decided, there was so much more.

Kevin, this season's runner-up, and Jon (5th) celebrated Arsenal winning the Premier League.

Michelle (3rd), Mick (6th), Dan (14th) and Sandra (7th - with the week's highest score) celebrated the relief of Spurs avoiding relegation.

Jenni (4th) and Chris (12th) congratulate their respective teams Manchester United and Liverpool's achievement in securing a Champions League place for next year.

Ken, Sandra, Karen (8th), Nick (15th) and Oliver (13th) celebrate Brighton qualifying for the UEFA Conference League.

Brian (9th) and, by association, Karen have not stopped celebrating Hull's promotion to the Premier League.

I am sure Simon (11th) was delighted that Bolton won the Division One play-off final to gain promotion to the Championship and Joe (10th) will doubtless be celebrating the fact that Auckland FC became the first New Zealand team to win the A-League championship title. 

Oh yes, nearly forgot. Ken won!  

FA Cup Final

The 72nd minute goal by Semenyo made all the difference. Not just to the actual result of the final, but also to the outcome of our competition. A goalless outcome would have seen either Michelle or Jon declared the winner because both had enough defenders/goalkeeper in their line-ups that would have seen off Ken's impoverished side that fielded only four players, not including the scorer. In the event, it was his twelve-point advantage from the semi-final stage that kept him ahead, despite the others scoring more points on the day. The highest scoring teams belonged to Mick and Sandra who each moved up a place to share 4th with Jon in 3rd. Last season's top two were reversed this year. Michelle finished as runner-up, and Ken takes the plaudits.

Week 40: Ken's good fortune continued as he top-scored to inch further away from Kevin as the fight for top spot now heads fto the final week of the season. With just twelve games to go, 45 points separate the two of them with Michelle holding on to third and Jenni in fourth. The only positional change this week saw Joe overtake Simon to move up to 10th, one place behind Brian who was the week's second highest scorer. He's still celebrating!

With so many tight games at this stage of the season, it seems all the more difficult to decide on whether to focus on defending or attacking. Arguably, in a week when the two Manchester teams and Arsenal were among those who kept clean sheets, it was the time to bolster your defence, and defenders and goalkeepers were well represented in the week's highest points scorers. However, the top marks went to De Cuyper (13 pts) and Dunk (12). The highest scoring forward or midfielder was goal-machine Haaland with 10. 

Brian, fired by the prospect (now the reality) of Hull reaching the Championship Play-Off Final, celebrated with the week's top score which lifted him two places into 9th, pushing both Simon and Joe down a place. The rest of the places remain unchanged, leaving Ken and Kevin fighting it out for first place and Michelle and Jenni doing the same for third.

There is the small matter of the FA Cup Final taking place this coming Saturday; it's either a disctraction or just something else to keep the stress levels up! The transfer window is now open and will close at 15:00 hours, kick off time.

Very much like last year, it is close at the top of that table with the top three teams separated by 18 points. The Super-Five Tie-Break is likely to be introduced for Ken, Michelle and Jon.