World Cup Brainteasers

1. Where did they go?

England’s Harry Kane is up for the Golden Boot, but some superstars have been nowhere to be seen with their drop-out performance during this year’s World Cup. Can you spot Messi, Ozil and Salah’s shirts amongst the other players?

2. Can you spot the odd ball out?

3. World Cup Anagram

Answer the seven questions below and then take the first letter of each of your answers. If you answer all questions correctly, they will produce an anagram of one of the most famous European strikers of all-time.

• 1. Which country won the first ever World Cup?
• 2. Give us the surname of the 18-year-old England striker who scored a classic goal against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup.
• 3. Which team lost 10-1 to Hungary in the 1982 World Cup?
• 4. Name the country that hosted the 1954 World Cup finals.
• 5. What is the surname of the German who has won the World Cup both as a player and a manager?
• 6. Which country were the first to win consecutive World Cup tournaments?
• 7. How many times have a European country won the World Cup?
  

4. World Cup maths

It’s time for some World Cup mathematics! The answers to our five questions are all numbers. Follow the directions and carry out the required calculations to reveal the final answer. Clue: the total is the number of times a South American team have won the trophy.

• 1. How many times have the host nation won the World Cup?
• 2. Now take that number and multiply it by the number of times that England have lost a World Cup penalty shoot-out.
• 3. For the next calculation subtract the number of times that the Netherlands have been defeated in a World Cup Final.
• 4. Now add on the number of World Cup tournaments that have taken place, including the current tournament in Russia.
• 5. Finally, you need to divide your number by the number of times that Italy have won the World Cup.

5. Spot the Ball

A World Cup brain teaser wouldn’t be complete without the classic ‘Spot the Ball’. Can you work out where the ball is in each of these?

6. Emoji Quiz

Can you decipher the World Cup footballers from these emojis?

Answers

1. 1. Here’s where Messi, Ozil and Salah were hiding

2. Here’s where the odd ball out is

5. 3. Answers for the anagram:

1 Uruguay

2 Owen

3 El Salvador

4 Switzerland

5 Beckenbauer

6 Italy

7 Eleven

Answer – Eusebio

4. 4. Answers to the maths question:

1 – 6

2- 3

3-3

4-21

5-4

Calculation is 6×3=18-3=15+21=36 divided by 4 = 9

5. Here is where the ball actually appeared

6. 6. Here is the answer to the emoji quiz