In honor of the 18th World Cup, here are 18 questions about the world’s most famous tournament.
1. The World Cup trophy was stolen from an exhibition before the 1966 tournament in England. How was it found?
A) A dog named Pickles found it under a bush.
B) An exhibition employee took it home but was forced to return it by his mom.
C) Authorities posed as Mafiosi interested in buying the trophy from the thieves.
2. What did Brazil coach Luis Felipe Scolari ban his players from doing during the 2002 World Cup?
A) Listening to Jay-Z.
B) Watching “The Simpsons.”
C) Having sex.
3. Why did India refuse to play in the 1950 Cup?
A) Because FIFA did not allow the nation to host.
B) Because FIFA wouldn’t let the team play barefoot.
C) Because players weren’t allowed to bring their wives.
4. Match the Mexico player with his nickname:
A) Jesus Arellano.
B) Jared Borgetti.
C) Claudio Suarez.
a) “The Emperor.”
b) “The Baby Goat.”
c) “The Desert Fox.”
5. What did a fan throw on the field during the France-Canada match in 1986?
A) A rooster.
B) A skunk.
C) A black cat.
6. Why did Brazil’s Ronaldo change his hairstyle after beating England in the 2002 quarterfinals?
A) His son mistook him for teammate Roberto Carlos.
B) He missed a header, which he blamed on his haircut.
C) Nike wanted him to look more camera-friendly.
7. What did Landon Donovan do the day after losing in the 2002 quarterfinals?
A) Sold his Mercedes-Benz.
B) Traveled to the U.S. to play in a San Jose Earthquakes match the same day.
C) Got a tattoo on his wrist to commemorate the experience.
8. To whom did Brazil’s Tostao give his 1970 World Cup medals?
A) His cabdriver.
B) A player on the runner-up Italian team.
C) His surgeon.
9. Which of the following players on the U.S. roster was not born in Illinois?
A) Brian McBride.
B) Steven Cherundolo.
C) Josh Wolff.
10. When Eladio Rojas scored in 1962 quarterfinals, who did he hug first?
A) The Russian goalkeeper.
B) The referee.
C) Nobody.
11. Why did an Italian sports official hide the World Cup trophy?
A) He didn’t want anyone to see it until the finals.
B) To keep Nazis from confiscating it during wartime.
C) He believed his son would sell it if he found it.
12. Why did British newspapers report the United States’ 1-0 win over England in 1950 as U.S. 1, England 10?
A) A well-liked prime minister had just died, and they wanted to wait to break the news.
B) Newspapers thought officials must have been bribed.
C) They thought reporters had made a typing mistake since England was a heavy favorite.
13. Mexico coach Ricardo LaVolpe didn’t include fan favorite Cuauhtemoc Blanco on his World Cup roster. Whom did he include?
A) His son-in-law.
B) His barber’s son.
C) His former ball boy.
14. What’s the largest crowd to attend a Cup match?
A) 162,000
B) 174,000
C) 200,000
15. Why did the king of Romania give players three months off before the 1930 World Cup in Uruguay?
A) He believed rest was more important than practice.
B) So they could make the journey to Uruguay by ship.
C) He could not find a coach suitable to train the team.
16. True or false: Ronaldinho’s Nike commercial, in which he kicks a ball at the upper deck four times without letting it hit the ground, is 100 percent real.
17. Where is it believed “hooligan” came from?
A) It was the name of a South London bar.
B) Irishman Patrick Hooligan, a thief who murdered a police officer in the early 1900s.
C) Police misinterpreted “Foley’s gang”–men led by a criminal named Foley–and labeled them “hooligans.”
18. Why did a South Korean set himself on fire prior to his country’s 2002 match?
A) He wanted to try to intimidate Portugal into forfeiting.
B) He believed FIFA would take pity and offer him tickets to the match.
C) He believed his spirit would become the 12th man on the field against Portugal.
QUIZ ANSWERS
1. A 2. C 3. B 4. Aa, Bc, Ca 5. A (But the rooster, a symbol of the French team, was dead when the referee removed it.) 6. A (Ronaldo’s wife told him his son kissed the screen and said “Daddy” when Carlos appeared during a match.) 7. B 8. C (Tostao gave the medals to the American surgeon who performed two operations on his eye before the finals. ) 9. C (Wolff was born in Stone Mountain, Ga. McBride was born in Arlington Heights and Cherundolo in Rockford.) 10. A (Many considered Lev Yashin, the namesake for the World Cup’s goalkeeper award, to be unbeatable up until that goal. 11. B (The official smuggled the trophy from a bank in Rome and hid it under his mattress for most of World War II.) 12. C 13. A 14. B (A crowd of 174,000 saw Uruguay defeat Brazil in the 1950 final at Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.) 15. B 16. False (The clip is digitally altered.) 17. B 18. C
