Forty football trivia questions with answers, ready to read aloud at a pub quiz, a matchday gathering, or a group chat. The questions are sorted into easy, medium, and hard rounds, with four tie-breakers at the end.
This is a read-aloud format, so the answers are printed next to each question. If you want to play solo, use the interactive football trivia quiz instead: it hides the answers until you pick one and gives you a score out of 20.
How to run a football quiz night
A good quiz has a rhythm. Start with questions most people can answer, then increase the difficulty. Put the hardest questions in the middle of each round, not all at the end, so the energy does not sag. Read each question twice, give teams ten seconds to write an answer, and move on.
For a pub quiz, split the forty questions into four rounds of ten. Use the easy questions as round one, the medium questions as rounds two and three, and the hard questions as round four. Keep the tie-breakers in reserve. If you have a big crowd, add a picture round or a “name the stadium” round rather than making the questions harder.
Easy
15 questions
Medium
15 questions
Hard
10 questions
Easy round
Fifteen questions to open the quiz. Most football fans should get at least ten.
How many players from each team start a football match?
Answer: Eleven, including one goalkeeper.
Which country won the 2018 men’s World Cup?
Answer: France, beating Croatia 4–2 in the final.
Which country won the 2023 Women’s World Cup?
Answer: Spain, beating England 1–0 in the final in Sydney.
Which stadium is known as the “Theatre of Dreams”?
Answer: Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United.
What colour card sends a player off?
Answer: A red card. A second yellow card also results in a red.
How many minutes are in a standard football match?
Answer: Ninety minutes, split into two 45-minute halves, plus stoppage time.
Which national team does Lionel Messi represent?
Answer: Argentina.
Which club did Cristiano Ronaldo join in 2009?
Answer: Real Madrid, from Manchester United.
What is the nickname of Brazil’s national team?
Answer: The Seleção (Seleção Brasileira).
How many points are awarded for a league win?
Answer: Three points. A draw is worth one.
Which Norwegian striker joined Manchester City in 2022?
Answer: Erling Haaland.
Which country hosted the 2014 men’s World Cup?
Answer: Brazil. Germany won the tournament.
What is a hat-trick?
Answer: Three goals scored by the same player in a single match.
Which competition is Europe’s premier club tournament?
Answer: The UEFA Champions League.
Which club is based at Anfield?
Answer: Liverpool.
Medium round
Fifteen questions that reward people who watch more than the highlights. Expect a few arguments about the answers.
Who scored the “Hand of God” goal against England in 1986?
Answer: Diego Maradona, in the quarter-final in Mexico City.
Which club has won the most European Cup and Champions League titles?
Answer: Real Madrid, comfortably ahead of AC Milan.
Who won the 2022 Ballon d’Or?
Answer: Karim Benzema, after leading Real Madrid to La Liga and the Champions League.
Which country won UEFA Euro 2024?
Answer: Spain, beating England 2–1 in Berlin.
Who captained Italy to the 2006 World Cup?
Answer: Fabio Cannavaro.
Which club did Lionel Messi join in 2021?
Answer: Paris Saint-Germain, after leaving Barcelona.
Who won the Golden Boot at the 2022 men’s World Cup?
Answer: Kylian Mbappé, with eight goals.
Which country has won the most Copa América titles?
Answer: Argentina, who moved ahead of Uruguay by winning the 2024 edition.
In which year was the first FIFA Women’s World Cup held?
Answer: 1991, in China. The United States won the final against Norway.
Who scored a hat-trick in the 2015 Women’s World Cup final?
Answer: Carli Lloyd, as the United States beat Japan 5–2.
Which manager led Leicester City to the Premier League title in 2016?
Answer: Claudio Ranieri.
What is a “false nine”?
Answer: A forward who drops deep into midfield, pulling centre-backs out of position and creating space for others.
Which club is nicknamed Los Blancos?
Answer: Real Madrid, because of their all-white kit.
How many substitutions are permitted in a standard competitive match?
Answer: Five, using three stoppages plus half-time. Competitions can allow extra substitutions for concussion protocols.
Which country won the first men’s World Cup in 1930?
Answer: Uruguay, who hosted the tournament and beat Argentina in the final.
Hard round
Ten questions for the football obsessives. A score of six or more here is genuinely good.
Which country won the 1999 Women’s World Cup?
Answer: The United States, beating China on penalties in the final.
Which men’s player has scored at five different World Cups?
Answer: Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored in 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022.
Which club did Johan Cruyff join in 1973?
Answer: Barcelona, after leaving Ajax.
Who was the first African player to win the Ballon d’Or?
Answer: George Weah, in 1995.
Which country won the 2019 Women’s World Cup?
Answer: The United States, beating the Netherlands 2–0 in the final.
What was the score in the Brazil vs Germany 2014 World Cup semi-final?
Answer: Germany won 7–1.
Which club won the first European Cup in 1956?
Answer: Real Madrid, who went on to win the first five editions.
Who is the all-time leading scorer in the Premier League?
Answer: Alan Shearer, with 260 goals.
Which country won the 2021 Copa América?
Answer: Argentina, beating Brazil 1–0 in the final at the Maracanã.
Who won the 2023 Ballon d’Or?
Answer: Lionel Messi, his eighth Ballon d’Or.
Tie-breakers
Four questions for the end of the night. Use them one at a time, and keep the answers to yourself until both teams have written something down.
Which club has won the most FA Cups?
Answer: Arsenal, with 14 titles.
Which men’s player has the most international caps?
Answer: Cristiano Ronaldo, for Portugal.
Which country has won the most Women’s World Cup titles?
Answer: The United States, with four.
Which stadium has the largest capacity in Europe?
Answer: Camp Nou in Barcelona. Capacity figures vary during redevelopment, but it is the largest football stadium in Europe.
How to score it
One point per correct answer. No negative marking. If a team gives a partially correct answer — a surname without the first name, or a club without the city — accept it if the meaning is clear. The point of a quiz is to have fun, not to litigate spelling.
For a competitive quiz, use the tie-breakers before a sudden-death round. If the tie-breakers do not separate the teams, ask each team to name a different World Cup winner from a country that has won it. The last team standing wins.
Want more football questions?
The interactive football trivia quiz has twenty multiple-choice questions with explanations after every answer. The club nicknames guide is a good source for a picture round, and the positions guide can help you write a tactics round.
If you want a different kind of challenge, play the daily football player guessing game. It is not a trivia quiz — it is a deduction puzzle with six guesses and six clues.
How this guide was written
GoalWord guides are written and reviewed by the editorial team, with facts checked against public records and competition archives. Spot an error? Tell us and we will correct it. Read our editorial policy.