130 free Soccer Trivia for Kids trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Soccer trivia for kids should be about the game kids actually watch and play: how many players are on the field, what a hat-trick is, why the goalkeeper gets to use their hands, and who won the last World Cup. These 130 questions start with the basics and build up to the stars and records that older kids argue about at practice. The set covers the rules of the game (offside, corners, throw-ins, penalties), the men's and women's World Cups, the Premier League and Champions League, and the players everyone knows: Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappé, Haaland, Marta and Pelé. Every answer is checked against a cited source and the explanations add one fun fact to remember. Play it as a warm-up before training, a rainy-day classroom quiz or a car-ride game on the way to a match. Take a round now and see how many you get right.
30 of 130 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01How many players does each soccer team have on the field at the start of a match?
Eleven
That includes one keeper, and most competitions now allow up to five substitutes per team.
Q 02Which player is the only one allowed to pick up the ball with their hands during play?
The goalkeeper
Even the goalkeeper can only do it inside their own penalty area.
Q 03How long is each half of a regular soccer match?
45 minutes
Two halves make 90 minutes, plus whatever stoppage time the referee adds on.
Q 04Roughly how many people play soccer around the world, making it the planet's most popular sport?
250 million
They play in more than 200 countries and territories.
Q 05How often is the men's FIFA World Cup held?
Every four years
The only gaps were 1942 and 1946 because of World War II.
Q 06Which country hosted and won the very first World Cup in 1930?
Uruguay
Uruguay was picked partly because it was celebrating 100 years of independence that year.
Q 07Which country has won the men's World Cup more times than anyone else, with five titles?
Brazil
Brazil is also the only team that has played in every single World Cup.
Q 08Which country won the 2026 World Cup, beating Argentina 1-0 in the final?
Spain
Spain let in only one goal in the whole tournament, and it was also the reigning women's world champion.
Q 09How many teams played at the 2026 World Cup, the biggest ever?
48
It was the first World Cup shared by three host countries, with games spread across 16 cities.
Q 10Which player won the Golden Boot as top scorer at the 2026 World Cup with 10 goals?
Kylian Mbappé
It was his second Golden Boot in a row, and he became the World Cup's all-time leading scorer.
Q 11What is it called when one player scores three goals in a single game?
A hat-trick
By tradition the player gets to keep the match ball afterwards.
Q 12How far from the goal line is the penalty spot?
12 yards
That is 11 metres, and only the kicker and the keeper are allowed inside the penalty area during the kick.
Q 13What does the referee show a player who is being sent off the field?
A red card
The team cannot replace a sent-off player and has to finish the game a player short.
Q 14A player who gets a yellow card and then a second yellow card in the same match is what?
Q 21What is the top soccer division in the country that invented the modern game called?
The Premier League
Twenty clubs play in it, and the bottom teams are relegated to the league below every season.
Q 22Which club has won the Champions League more times than any other?
Real Madrid
They have lifted the trophy 15 times, starting with the very first final in 1956.
Q 23What restart is given when the defending team knocks the ball out over its own goal line?
A corner kick
A goal scored straight from a corner without anyone else touching the ball is called an Olimpico.
Sent off
Two cautions add up to a dismissal, so players on a yellow have to be extra careful.
Q 15Which Brazilian legend is the only player to have won three World Cups?
Pelé
He won his first in 1958 at just 17 years old and was nicknamed O Rei, the King.
Q 16Which MLS club did Lionel Messi join in 2023?
Inter Miami
He joined after a career at Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, and he captained Argentina too.
Q 17How many times has Lionel Messi won the Ballon d'Or, a record?
Eight
Cristiano Ronaldo is next with five, though Ronaldo has been nominated the most times.
Q 18Which national team has Cristiano Ronaldo captained?
Portugal
He holds the record for the most goals ever scored in men's international soccer.
Q 19Which country has won the Women's World Cup the most times, with four titles?
United States
The USA's fourth win came in France in 2019.
Q 20Where was the first Women's World Cup held in 1991?
China
Its official name back then was the FIFA Women's World Championship.
Q 24How must a player deliver a throw-in?
With both hands from behind and over the head
Both feet also have to stay on or behind the touchline.
Q 25The rule that stops attackers from waiting next to the other team's goal for a pass is called what?
Offside
You are offside if you are nearer the goal line than both the ball and the second-last defender when the ball is played.
Q 26What is it called when a player accidentally puts the ball into their own team's net?
An own goal
The goal counts for the other team no matter how it went in.
Q 27How wide is a full-size soccer goal, measured between the posts?
8 yards
That is 7.32 metres, and the crossbar sits 8 feet off the ground; the size has not changed since 1863.
Q 28What acrobatic move sees a player strike the ball backwards over their own head while in midair?
A bicycle kick
It is also called an overhead kick or scissors kick.
Q 29If you dribble the ball between a defender's legs, what trick have you pulled off?
A nutmeg
Ice hockey borrows the idea too, calling a puck between the goalie's legs the five-hole.
Q 30Which Norwegian striker scored a record 36 English top-flight goals in a season for Manchester City?
Erling Haaland
He also once scored nine goals in a single match at the under-20 World Cup.