Try my FIFA World Cup quiz, which accompanies The World Cup: A Short History.

The questions relate only to the World Cup Finals, not the qualification stage.

1. Which nation scored the very first FIFA World Cup goal?
2. Which nation won the inaugural World Cup in 1930?
3. US player, Bert Patenaude, was the first player to do what in a World Cup match?
4. Who, in 1934, became the first African nation to play at a World Cup?
5. Why did the Austrian ‘wunder‘ team withdraw from the 1938 World Cup?
6. Which nation qualified in 1950 but withdrew when FIFA refused their request to play barefoot?
7. England won their first World Cup game in 1950 but famously lost their second. To whom?
8. Ferenc Puskas played for his native Hungary in 1954 and for which adopted country in 1962?
9. Which was the one World Cup where all four British nations were represented?
10. In 1958, 17-year-old Pele became, and remains, the youngest player to score a World Cup goal – against who?
11. Which nation hosted the 1962 World Cup Finals?
12. For how many days did the Jules Rimet trophy go missing before the 1966 World Cup in England?
13. Which nation did North Korea famously beat during the group stage in the 1966 World Cup?
14. Geoff Hurst scored a hat trick for England in the 1966 World Cup final but who scored the other goal?
15. Why were England grateful to Tovik Bakhramov in 1966?
16. What was the final score of the 1970 Italy v Brazil World Cup final?
17. West Germany won the World Cup in 1974 but to whom did they lose in the group stage?
18. First used in 1974, the new World Cup trophy has on its underside a list of winners, with enough space to last up to when?
19. Who scored two of Argentina’s goals during the 1978 World Cup Final?
20. The first World Cup penalty shoot-out took place between whom in 1982?
21. In 1982, Italy’s Dino Zoff became the oldest player to win the World Cup. In years, how old was he?
22. Who, in 1982, is the only team to have scored double figures in a World Cup game?
23. Which country was the first to host the World Cup twice?
24. Which two countries have been runners-up in two consecutive Football World Cup tournaments?
25. In 1994, Russia’s Oleg Salenko scored a record five goals in one match – against who?
26. Against whom did Cameroon’s Roger Milla score to become the World Cup’s oldest goalscorer?
27. Lothar Matthaus of Germany played a record how many World Cup games?
28. Who missed the vital penalty in the 1994 World Cup Final penalty shoot-out to hand the trophy to Brazil?
29. Which nation, in 1998, became the first to win a World Cup game on the Golden Goal rule?
30. Which player scored two goals in the 1998 World Cup final?
31. Who, in 2002, was the first Asian nation to play in a World Cup semi-final?
32. Turkey’s Hakan Sukur holds the World Cup record for what?
33. Who is the only player to play in three consecutive World Cup finals?
34. What is the smallest country to have won the World Cup?
35. What was the last World Cup tournament in which no one was sent off?
36. Who were the first host country to be knocked out at the group stage?
37. In which year did the World Cup have its first game under covers?
38. Which player has scored the most goals in a single World Cup tournament?
39. With an average of 5.4 goals per match which World Cup tournament remains the highest scoring?
40. Which nation, in 1991, won the inaugural Women’s FIFA World Cup?

Answers can be found here but in order to access this page you will need to provide ID showing that you are over 18 years of age, valid proof of address, valid passport, national insurance number, doctor’s certificate, driving licence, a sample of blood and a pledge to throwaway any recordings you may have by Mariah Carey.

Taken from the book The World Cup: A Short History.