World Cup
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136 free World Cup trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
The FIFA World Cup is the biggest sporting event on the planet, and this quiz covers all of it: the first tournament in 1930, the stolen trophies, the 1950 Maracanazo, the 1966 final at Wembley, Just Fontaine's record haul, and the expanded 2026 tournament across three North American countries whose winner conceded a single goal all summer. There is a full set of questions on FIFA the organisation too: where it was founded, who runs it, how many members it has, and which body actually writes the Laws of the Game. Easy questions ask which nation has won the most titles and which country hosted in 2022; the hard end gets into trophy designers, first presidents, the only coach to win it twice and which team Messi scored against to break Miroslav Klose's record. It works for a pub quiz, a watch party or a fan who wants to see how much of the 2026 tournament they can remember. Every answer has been checked against the Wikipedia articles on the World Cup, the 2026 tournament and FIFA, and each question shows its source once you have answered.
30 of 136 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which country hosted the inaugural FIFA World Cup tournament?
Uruguay
Uruguay hosted and won the first-ever FIFA World Cup in 1930, celebrating the centenary of its first constitution.
Q 02Which nation has won the most FIFA World Cup titles?
Brazil
Brazil's five titles were all won on foreign soil: the two World Cups it hosted, in 1950 and 2014, both ended in famous home defeats.
Q 03Which nation won the 2018 World Cup in Russia?
France
France beat Croatia 4–2 in Moscow in a final briefly halted when Pussy Riot protesters dressed as police officers ran onto the pitch in the second half.
Q 04Which nation beat defending champions Argentina 1–0 after extra time to win the 2026 World Cup?
Spain
Spain won through Ferran Torres's extra-time goal after ten-man Argentina had failed to manage a single shot in normal time, a first for a World Cup final.
Q 05Who found the stolen World Cup trophy in a London street a week after its 1966 theft?
A collie dog named Pickles
A collie dog named Pickles sniffed out the newspaper-wrapped parcel while out with owner David Corbett, and both were later invited to England's World Cup victory banquet.
Q 06Which player scored a hat-trick in the 1966 final at Wembley as England beat West Germany 4-2?
Geoff Hurst
Geoff Hurst's second goal bounced down off the crossbar and stood only after the referee consulted his linesman; he added a third in the last minute of extra time.
Q 07Which nation stunned England 1-0 at Belo Horizonte in the 1950 World Cup?
United States
The United States, a team of part-timers, won through a diving header by Joe Gaetjens, a Haitian-born accounting student who was not even an American citizen.
Q 08Which two nations were shut out of the 1950 World Cup, the first held after the Second World War?
Germany and Japan
Germany and Japan, both still under Allied occupation, were absent, while Italy took its place as defending champion despite having fought on the same side.
Q 09The original World Cup trophy was renamed in 1946 in honour of which long-serving FIFA president?
Jules Rimet
Jules Rimet, FIFA president for 33 years, sailed to the first tournament in 1930 on the Conte Verde with the trophy aboard, and the cup took his name in 1946.
Q 10What new stage did the 48-team 2026 World Cup add?
A round of 32
A round of 32 came with the expansion: FIFA first planned 16 groups of three, then switched to 12 groups of four to reduce the risk of teams colluding.
Q 11Which stadium hosted the 2026 World Cup final on July 19?
MetLife in East Rutherford
MetLife in East Rutherford, New Jersey, had to drop its sponsor's name under FIFA rules, so the final was officially played at 'New York New Jersey Stadium'.
Q 12Which is the only stadium to have staged matches at three different World Cups (1970, 1986 and 2026)?
Estadio Azteca
Estadio Azteca staged the 1970 and 1986 finals, saw Maradona score both the 'Hand of God' goal and the 'Goal of the Century' in one 1986 match, and opened the 2026 tournament.
Q 13Zayu, one of the three official mascots of the 2026 World Cup, is what kind of animal?
A jaguar
Q 21Which territory was admitted to FIFA in 2016 after a long campaign opposed by Spain?
Gibraltar
Gibraltar had to take its case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport more than once before it was let into UEFA in 2013 and voted into FIFA in May 2016.
Q 22The World Cup trophy introduced in 1974, designed by Italy's Silvio Gazzaniga, shows two figures holding up what?
The Earth
The Earth is lifted by two athletes in Gazzaniga's design, which beat 52 rival entries from around the world when FIFA needed a replacement for its first trophy.
Q 23In which city was the original World Cup trophy stolen in 1983, never to be recovered?
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro is home to the Brazilian confederation, which had been given the trophy for good; thieves took it in December 1983 and are believed to have melted it down.
A jaguar in Mexico's green, Zayu plays as the trio's forward, with Maple the moose in goal and Clutch the bald eagle in midfield; all three became playable characters in a FIFA video game.
Q 14What was the name of the Adidas match ball used at the 2026 World Cup?
Trionda
Trionda joins 'tri', for the three host nations, to 'onda', Spanish for wave; the ball carries a maple leaf, an eagle and a star for Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Q 15The United 2026 bid beat which rival country's bid at the 2018 FIFA Congress?
Morocco
Morocco lost the vote 134 to 65 but was later chosen as a co-host of the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal.
Q 16Which country co-hosted the 2002 World Cup with South Korea?
Japan
Japan and South Korea had been rival bidders until they agreed to a joint bid, which made 2002 the first World Cup in Asia and the first with two hosts.
Q 17FIFA, whose full name is French, was founded in 1904 in which city?
Paris
FIFA was born in Paris on 21 May 1904, when seven continental European associations went ahead on their own after the British home nations rejected the idea.
Q 18In which Swiss city is FIFA headquartered?
Zurich
Zurich is FIFA's home, and it was at the city's Baur au Lac hotel that Swiss police arrested seven FIFA officials on corruption charges in May 2015.
Q 19Who is the only player to have won the World Cup three times?
Pelé
Pelé won in 1958, 1962 and 1970, though injury ended his 1962 tournament in the second match and he only received a winner's medal for it in 2007.
Q 20Who was elected FIFA president in February 2016 after Sepp Blatter's suspension?
Gianni Infantino
Gianni Infantino was UEFA's general secretary when elected, and as FIFA president he drove the expansion of the World Cup from 32 teams to 48.
Q 24A chemist argued in 2010 that the gold World Cup trophy must be what?
Hollow
Hollow, said Martyn Poliakoff of Nottingham University, who worked out that a solid gold trophy of its size would weigh at least 70 kg, far more than its actual 6 kg.
Q 25Which French forward scored the first goal in World Cup history, on 13 July 1930?
Lucien Laurent
Lucien Laurent volleyed France's opener against Mexico after 19 minutes in Montevideo, the first goal in World Cup history; France won 4-1.
Q 26Which French striker scored a record 13 goals at a single World Cup?
Just Fontaine
Just Fontaine scored all 13 in six matches in 1958, his only World Cup; a double leg fracture in 1960 led him to retire at 28.
Q 27Who is the only head coach to have won two World Cups?
Vittorio Pozzo
Vittorio Pozzo won with Italy in 1934 and 1938, when his players gave the fascist salute and, against hosts France, were ordered to play in all-black shirts.
Q 28Along with Beckenbauer and Deschamps, which Brazilian won the World Cup as both a player and a head coach?
Mário Zagallo
Mário Zagallo won as a player in 1958 and 1962, coached the 1970 champions and was assistant coach in 1994, so four winning squads had him on the pitch or the bench.
Q 29From 1994 to 2006 the World Cup's best-goalkeeper prize was named after which keeper?
Lev Yashin
Lev Yashin, the Soviet 'Black Spider' who dressed in dark colours from head to toe, died in 1990, and FIFA created the award in his honour four years later.
Q 30Who headed two goals from corners as France beat Brazil 3–0 in the 1998 World Cup final?
Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane, sent off earlier in the tournament for a stamp on an opponent, headed in two first-half corners to put France 2–0 up by half-time.