It’s quiz time! Here are twenty fiendish (and not so fiendish) questions about the World Cup for you to get your teeth into…
1) Which player captained Northern Ireland to the 1958 World Cup, and then won a modern English football first as captain of his club three years later?
2) Which English 1966 World Cup Final legend is related to another World Cup winner (not the Charltons – that would be too easy…)?
3) Which European club has had at least one player in every World Cup final since 1982?
4) On the eve of the 1966 World Cup, a bunch of villains pinched the Jules Rimet trophy from an exhibition centre in London and demanded a ransom. Their loot was obviously too hot to handle as it was later dumped in a hedge – whereupon it was found by a nosy dog, out for a walk. What was that legendary dog’s name?
5) At the 1958 tournament, the Moroccan-born Frenchman Just Fontaine set the record for the most goals scored at a single World Cup, a remarkable record that stands to this day. How many goals did he score in total in those finals?
6) Another goalscoring record was set in the 2018 World Cup, although this one was at the wrong end. How many own goals were scored in Russia?
7) Which somewhat unexpected player did ‘Big’ Jack Charlton register as the Republic of Ireland’s third choice goalkeeper for Italia ’90?
8) Wales qualified for this year’s World Cup, but when did they last appear at the tournament?
9) This Brazilian legend has played in a record-breaking SEVEN consecutive World Cups between 1995 and 2019. Who is she?
10) Who was the first player to be sent off in a World Cup final?
11) Who was the first captain to be sent off in a World Cup final?
12) Who was the first (and thus far only) player to win the World Cup as captain of his country and, later, as a coach?
13) Four Welshmen have scored in a World Cup – Ivor Allchurch, John Charles and Gareth Bale are three of them. Who is the fourth?
14) A World Cup record was set in one of 2022’s quarter final games, when an astonishing EIGHTEEN yellow cards were dished out by a very trigger-happy referee. Who were the two teams involved in this incredible match?
15) The first World Cup took place in 1930, in Uruguay. The home nation were the eventual winners, beating Argentina 4-2 in the final. But which (perhaps unexpected) side came in third?
16) Apart from Zinedine Zidane (yes, him again…), who is the only other player to have been sent off in two separate World Cups?
17) Which legendary player was the top scorer at the 1966 World Cup?
18) Which nation has scored more own goals than actual goals at the World Cup?
19) Her iconic celebration in the 1999 Women’s World Cup final is still an enduring image. In fact, it inspired one of the Lionesses during their historic Euros victory this summer. Who is this USWNT legend?
You think it’s all over?
It is now….
20) Everyone knows that Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters scored England’s four goals in the 1966 World Cup final (just ask a West Ham fan!). But who were the two Germans who also scored that afternoon at Wembley?
Good luck!
Answers after Christmas – post a comment here or tweet ASRV with yours…
'And still Ricky Villa...' 