International soccer · Men’s and women’s tournaments

Soccer Trivia

Travel through World Cup history one name at a time, from early group stages to modern squads.

Sample soccer trivia questions

1. Name a player on the Argentina squad at the 2022 men’s World Cup.

   Show one valid answer

   Lionel Messi

2. Name a team that played in the quarter-finals at the 2022 men’s World Cup.

   Show one valid answer

   Brazil

3. Name a player credited with a goal for United States at the 2019 women’s World Cup (excluding own goals).

   Show one valid answer

   Carli Lloyd

What’s in the soccer trivia game?

This game is for fans of international soccer. Every game draws seven questions from men’s and women’s World Cup history. Some ask for a player who made the roster; others ask for a goal scorer or a country that advanced to a particular round. A roster question and a goal question might name the same tournament, but the valid names can be very different. A backup goalkeeper can fit a roster clue without scoring or even getting on the field.

The World Cup is the focus here, so the same terms recur across very different eras. Early tournaments sometimes used formats that look unfamiliar now. Read the edition on the question card. If the prompt asks about a group match, a goal in the knockout rounds does not count. If it asks for a quarterfinalist, a country that went out in the round of 16 will not fit. You don’t need to recall the final score of every match; knowing which teams made it through is often enough.

How to play and build a score

Start a game and type one name that matches the clue. You have three different guesses, with the option to pass and move on. For a player, the full name is usually the clearest answer. The quiz accepts many surnames when only one player in that question has that name. It also ignores accents and capitalization, so you can type on an English keyboard and still match what you meant.

Correct answers are worth £10m to £150m in game points. Familiar names are a good way to get on the board, but a midfielder from an earlier edition or a less remembered national team may be worth more. The fee comes from the order of accepted answers in that question. It doesn’t move up or down when someone else plays. You can open the full list after you lock in a score or pass, which makes a missed round a useful bit of World Cup revision.

Look for the clue that changes the answer

Keep an eye on the difference between a country and a club. If the question asks who played for a national team, think about who represented that country at that specific tournament, regardless of where their club played. If the question asks for a team that scored at least two goals in one group game, the total across three games is irrelevant. And a player who converts in a penalty shootout doesn’t get an individual match goal for that kick.

The men’s and women’s events have separate records. A team can be a regular contender in one and have little previous World Cup history in the other. If you normally follow only one tournament, try answering its questions by memory and use the reveal on unfamiliar editions. Start another game when you finish; you’ll get a different draw from the soccer bank instead of seeing the seven daily questions again.

Play on your own or compare with a friend

This practice game works without an account. It doesn’t change your daily streak or put a result on the public leaderboard. You can copy your score or save a scorecard without giving away the accepted answers. For a head-to-head contest, go to the daily Footbillion quiz and share a challenge after all seven rounds. Your friend will open the same lineup and see the score to beat.

Want to stick with one competition? Try the World Cup quiz, which mixes tournament history with hosts and past champions. For European clubs and a different kind of recall, switch to Football Trivia or choose unlimited practice. The data credits explain where the historical World Cup records come from.