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IT'S A TIE!
For the first time in our history we have a tie at the top, after leading all the way from the first game Andy Doig's Bristol City Reserves were caught in the last game by Yorkie's White Rose Blitzkrieg FC. Zidane's penalty meant that Andy got no points from Buffon and Henry's appearance point was enough for Yorkie to level it at 107 points each. Congratulations to you both, your prize money will be on its way to you this week.
Third prize goes to Jimmy Whitmore's D King of Kings, whilst there was another tie for fourth place between two of our rookie entries. Emma Scott's Emma's Starmix and Anthony Jones and his Jonesy's Allstars.
Our wooden spoon this year goes to Ted Edwards and his Herr Pistol's Panzer Division and their Serbian defenders.
Well done to our prize winners, I hope everyone enjoyed it, many thanks to everyone for their support. A special thanks to Adam Dawson for all his hard work on the website. I hope to see everyone again in two years time for Euro 2008.
They think it's all over..................it is now!
Italy defeated France in the final of the 2006 FIFA World Cup on a penalty shoot-out.
The French took an early lead in the game as they were awarded a penalty in just the seventh minute. Captain Zinedine Zidane stepped up to take it and his chipped shot rattled the underside of the bar and bounced over the line, Buffon going the wrong way. Italian protests that the ball did not cross the goal line were ignored by the referee who had (correct) confirmation from his linesman that the ball had in fact fully gone over the line.
Italy battled back and equalised just before the twenty minute mark, Andrea Pirlo's corner kick being headed in by Marco Materazzi who leapt above everybody else after leaving his marker.
The game was fairly even in all, France winning the battle of shots on goal (13 to 5, 5 to 3 on target) whilst Italy enjoyed most of the possession (55% to 45%).
Italy thought they had taken the lead in the second half but Luca Toni's header that beat Fabien Barthez was ruled to be offside.
Patrick Vieira was taken off just ten minutes into the second half when he pulled up with an injury, he was replaced by Alou Diarra. Whereas France made just the one change in the regulation ninety minutes, Italy made all three bringing on Iaquinta and De Rossi for Perrotta and Totti as well as the switch that saw Del Piero replace Camoranesi.
The game went to extra time and as expected the majority of players were tired, so France decided to make some changes, bringing on David Trezeguet and Sylvain Wiltord for Frank Ribery and Thierry Henry.
The big talking point of extra time was Zinedine Zidane as he finished his international career by being sent off for a blatant headbutt on Marco Materazzi. Words seemed to have been exchanged between the two and Zizou ended up nutting the Italian defender in the chest.
The final of the World Cup wound up going to penalties. The first three were scored: Pirlo and Materazzi for Italy, Wiltord for France. The shoot-out turned, though, when David Trezeguet's penalty kick hit the underside of the bar and bounced down and out. De Rossi and Del Piero followed by scoring for the Italians while Eric Abidal and Willy Sagnol netted for France. It would be Italy taking home the trophy, though, as Fabio Grosso scored his country's fifth in five penalty shots, ending France's dreams.   
ALL DOWN TO THE LAST GAME!
Thanks to Bastian Schweinsteiger's two goals and an assist, the gap at the top is now just one point. Bristol City Reserves will be hoping that Italian 'keeper Buffon will keep out White Rose Blitzkrieg's French striker Thierry Henry in tonight's final in order to hang on and clinch the Dawson Fantasy World Cup.
D King of Kings consolidated their third position, whilst Emma's Starmix and Jonesy's Allstars jump in to the top 5. However it is all over at the bottom, as the 'wooden spoon' goes to Herr Pistol's Panzer Division.
Enjoy the final, final standings will be posted soon after the final whistle. 
FIFA WORLD CUP '06 FINAL
ITALY v FRANCE
Sunday July 9th 2006, KO: 7pm BST
Some predicted the scandal rocking the landscape of Italian club football would affect the national team's chances in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, especially seeing as every one of their 23-man squad plays their club football in Italy. How wrong those doubters were. Italy began with a comfortable, yet expected, 2-0 victory over Ghana. A rocky match against the USA saw Daniele De Rossi dismissed and the team get just a point from the game. The Czech Republic's battered side couldn't prevent the Italians from victory and topping the group, which they did with a total of seven points. Italy would then just brush past Australia with a late penalty from Francesco Totti, but they lost Marco Materazzi (filling in for an injured Alessandro Nesta) during the game due to a red card. Materazzi-, De Rossi- and Nesta-less, the Italians comfortably swept aside Ukraine in the quarter-finals by a 3-goal margin before knocking tournament hosts Germany out in the semi-finals with two late extra-time goals. Amazingly, Italy have had ten different players score their eleven goals in the tournament so far: Pirlo, Iaquinta, Gilardino, Materazzi, Inzaghi, Totti, Zambroatta, Toni (2), Grosso and Del Piero. The only goal they have conceded was an own goal by Zaccardo against the USA.
Italy look a very strong side with these credentials, the most notable one being the elimination of the hosts, and they will go into the final very confident, especially with the return of Daniele De Rossi who has now completed his four-game suspension which he received after elbowing Brian McBride in the group stages. It's clear that goals can come from anywhere in the Italian side, so the French better watch out.
The French themselves have got stronger as the tournament has progressed. They started out with a lifeless and heavily-criticised 0-0 draw with Switzerland. The following game was a bit better as they took the lead against South Korea but the Asian side were able to grab an equaliser and again France took away just one point from the game. Their final group game, however, saw them through as group runners-up with five points, beating Togo 2-0 with strikes from Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira. Vieira scored again in the round of sixteen game along with Zinedine Zidane and Frank Ribery to help France come from a 1-0 defecit and beat Spain 3-1. In probably their best performance of the tournament, France knocked off reigning world champions and everybody's favourites for the tournament title for a sixth time, Brazil in the quarter-finals. Zidane again was magnificent. It was he who secured the French a spot in the final, his penalty (which had been won by Henry) the only goal of the semi-final match against Portugal in a well-deserved win.
There is just one player missing from the French team for the final and that is substitute striker Louis Saha of Manchester United, who shortly after coming on in the semi-final received his second yellow card of the knock-out stages and will have to sit out the final thanks to the one-game suspension. Still, France have a very good chance in what should be a fantastic game against Italy in the 2006 final in Berlin. Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Zinedine Zidane give France the experience whilst youngsters like Frank Ribery and Florent Malouda give the side pace and energy.
Their Roads To the World Cup Final
Italy France
Opponent Result Opponent Result
Ghana W 2-0 Switzerland D 0-0
USA D 1-1 South Korea D 1-1
Czech Republic W 0-2 Togo W 0-2
Australia W 1-0 Spain W 1-3
Ukraine W 3-0 Brazil W 0-1
Germany W 0-2* Portugal W 0-1
Key: * = ITA won after extra time
SCHWEINSTEIGER SHINES, HOSTS FINISH 3RD
A great display from Bastian Schweinsteiger aided Germany in finishing third in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, beating Portugal 3-1 in the third place playoff.
Bar three bookings the first half was fairly uneventful, not the worst game of the tournament but certainly not the most entertaining either. The second half was much livelier and Bastian Schweinsteiger opened the scoring in the third place playoff game with a cracking long-range strike to put tournament hosts Germany up 1-0. Four minutes later Schweinsteiger stepped up to take a free kick. The midfielder swung the ball in and Portugal's own Petit ended up sliding the ball into his own net. Eighteen minutes later Schweinsteiger doubled his tally and grabbed Germany's third of the game with another long-range strike that easily beat Ricardo in net. Nuno Gomes scored a late consolation goal for Portugal who finish fourth in the tournament after the 3-1 loss.
Host nation Germany finish third on home soil and look to have the Golden Shoe winner amongst their ranks in Miroslav Klose who has netted five times this tournament (equalling his tally from the 2002 World Cup). With just the one game left now, the closest player to beating Klose to the title is Thierry Henry with three goals, but the Frenchman will need to slot two past Italy and Gianluigi Buffon in tomorrow's final to just tie Klose's total.  
THIRD PLACE PLAYOFF
GERMANY v PORTUGAL
Saturday July 8th 2006, KO: 8pm BST
2006 FIFA World Cup hosts Germany failed in their bid to reach the prestigious final on home soil when they lost out to two late, extra-time goals by Italy in the semi-finals. They will instead have to settle for a third place playoff against fellow Europeans Portugal. After finishing first in Group A, winning all three matches, the Germans progressed to eliminate Sweden in the round of 16. Two early Lukas Podolski goals were enough to send the Group B runners-up home. The home nation then knocked out South American giants Argentina, Miroslav Klose's header cancelling out Ayala's to make the score 1-1 after normal time. The game went into extra time and eventually penalties, which the Germans came out victorious in, netting four opposed to Argentina's two.
The Portugese topped Group D (as Germany had done in Group A) and then advanced to knock out Holland in the round of sixteen, Maniche's strike being the difference in a game that went horribly out of control due to the referee's mass-booking of players. They then went on to the quarter-finals to face England. The game saw England forced to play for an hour with ten men after Wayne Rooney had been dismissed from the pitch. The game went into extra-time, neither team able to get on the scoresheet and remained 0-0. Portugal's Ricardo was dominant in the penalty shootout that ensued, saving three of four England penalties whilst his team-mates were able to put three of four past Paul Robinson. Portugal's route to the final, however, was halted as they fell 1-0 to France in the semi's. Zinedine Zidane's penalty strike after Ricardo Carvalho had chopped down Thierry Henry in the area was enough to separate the sides.
Their Roads To the Third Place Playoff
Germany Portugal
Opponent Result Opponent Result
Costa Rica W 4-2 Angola W 0-1
Poland W 1-0 Iran W 2-0
Ecuador W 0-3 Mexico W 2-1
Sweden W 2-0 Holland W 1-0
Argentina W 1-1* England W 0-0^
Italy L 0-2** France L 0-1
Key: * = GER won 4-2 on pens, ** = GER lost after extra time, ^ = POR won 3-1 on pens
ISSUE 5 OF THE NEWSLETTER NOW AVAILABLE!
Click here to download the latest edition of the 2006 Dawson Fantasy Football newsletter!  
Click here to see semi-finals news.
Click here to see quarter-finals news.
Click here to see round of 16 news.
Click here to see third group phase news.
Click here to see second group phase news.
Click here to see first group phase news.
09/07 - World Cup Final
  Italy 1 - 1 France aet (5 - 3 PSO)
08/07 - Third Place Playoff
  Germany 3 - 1 Portugal
View 'Results' page for more info.