World Cup trivia quiz – 20 questions on football!

Football fever is starting to grip fans as the FIFA World Cup 2022 gets closer and closer. The tournament runs from 20 November to 18 December, and promises four weeks of amazing action, stunning goals and plenty of on-field drama. To get the ball rolling, here’s our football trivia quiz on the World Cup past and present. We’ve broken it up into two sets of 10 questions. One set is for those with just a passing interest in the game, and the other is for the real football nuts!

Football trivia: Beginner’s 10

#1 Which country is hosting FIFA World Cup 2022?
#2 When did that country win the bid to host the event: 2006, 2010 or 2019?
#3 This is the first World Cup to be held in the Arab world, true or false?
#4 Which country has won the most World Cups?
#5 When did England win their one and only World Cup?
#6 What portion of the planet’s population watched the 2018 World Cup: one quarter, one half, or 85 percent?
#7 The event is normally held in June/July. Why is this one kicking off in November?
#8 Who are the current champions?
#9 How many teams will play in this year’s tournament?
#10 Which top-10-ranked former World Cup-winning nation missed out on qualification for this year’s tournament?

Football trivia: Expert’s 10

#1 Name one goalscorer from the 2018 final between France and Croatia.
#2 Name the two players who scored hat-tricks in the 2018 tournament.
#3 What was the scoreline in the famous Germany vs Brazil clash at the 2014 World Cup?
#4 Which American goalkeeper holds the record for the most saves in a World Cup game (16, set against Belgium in a 2-1 loss in 2014)?
#5 Which of these players hasn’t won the Golden Ball for best player at the finals? Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Luka Modrić
#6 What country became the first African nation to reach the last eight (in Italy, 1990)?
#7 Which country has been in the most World Cups without getting beyond the first round (eight times)?
#8 If Cristiano Ronaldo scores a goal in the 2022 tournament, how many consecutive World Cups will he have scored in?
#9 Zinedine Zidane gained notoriety for his headbutt in the 2006 final, but which Italian player was on the receiving end of it?
#10 The tournament was hosted by two countries for the first time in 2002. Which two?

Bonus

What country am I?

(If you can answer correctly on the first clue, you get 10 points, but you lose a point for each additional clue you require after that.)

• I played in the very first World Cup in 1930. (10)
• I didn’t win a group stage match until 1962, defeating Czechoslovakia 3-1. (9)
• My best result is reaching the quarter finals stage, which I did in 1970 and 1986. (8)
• Prior to the start of the 2022 tournament, only three players have appeared in five World Cups; two of them are from me. (7)
• I wasn’t allowed to play in the 1990 World Cup following a ban for fielding overage players in an earlier youth tournament. (6)
• I am the only country other than Brazil to make it out of the group stage in every one of the past seven World Cups. (5)
• I began the 2018 tournament in style by beating world champions Germany 1-0. (4)
• My two joint leading goal scorers in World Cups share the same surname, Hernández. (3)
• I have hosted two World Cups, in 1970 and 1986; the 1970 tournament was the first to be held in North America. (2)
• Starting with M, I am ______. (1) 

All the answers!

Beginner’s 10

#1 Qatar
#2 2010
#3 True
#4 Brazil
#5 1966
#6 One half
#7 Because temperatures are too high to play football in summer in Qatar
#8 France
#9 32
#10 Italy

Expert’s 10

#1 Mandzukic, Griezmann, Pogba, Mbappe, Perisic
#2 Harry Kane (England), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
#3 Germany 7 Brazil 1
#4 Tim Howard
#5 Cristiano Ronaldo
#6 Cameroon
#7 Scotland
#8 5 (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022)
#9 Marco Materazzi
#10 South Korea and Japan

Bonus

Mexico

Liked this football trivia? Read on for more fun puzzles and trivia:

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The great Travel Guide quiz