Q 01/05

How many players does each side field in a standard football match, one of whom must be the goalkeeper?

A) 5

B) 11

C) 25

D) 50

Answer · why

B) 11

11 a side, 22 on the pitch, and only the goalkeeper may handle the ball, and only inside their own penalty area.

Q 02/05

How long is a professional football match before stoppage time, played as two equal halves?

A) 20 minutes

B) 45 minutes

C) 90 minutes

D) 180 minutes

Answer · why

C) 90 minutes

90 minutes of two 45-minute halves, and the referee adds stoppage time on top; 120 is what you get after extra time in a knockout tie.

Q 03/05

Which animal became famous for 'predicting' 2010 World Cup results by choosing between two flag-marked food boxes?

A) A parrot

B) An octopus

C) A goat

D) A tortoise

Answer · why

B) An octopus

An octopus named Paul picked winners by eating from one of two mussel-filled boxes, and in 2010 he even called the final correctly.

Q 04/05

What colour card does a referee show to send a player off?

A) Yellow

B) Red

C) Blue

D) Green

Answer · why

B) Red

Red means off, and referee Ken Aston got the idea from a traffic light on Kensington High Street; yellow is a caution, and two yellows make a red.

Q 05/05

Which player, nicknamed O Rei or 'The King', is the only footballer to have won three World Cups?

A) Diego Maradona

B) Ronaldo

C) Pelé

D) Zinedine Zidane

Answer · why

C) Pelé

Pelé won in 1958, 1962 and 1970, though injury kept him out of most of 1962; Ronaldo won two, Maradona and Zidane one each.