Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. | Subscribe: World Cup Football Phrase

Every day during the World Cup, the languagecaster team explain a football phrase or cliché connected to this summer’s tournament. Click on the link below to hear the word or phrase and you can also read the transcript. You can find many more examples by going to our football phrase page here football clichés here and our huge football glossary here.

How much do you know about the history of the World Cup? Who won the tournament in 1938? Where was the final played in 1974? Who was the top scorer in 1966? Download the pdf file below, answer the questions and fill in the crossword. There is also an online version and of course there are answers provided.

Across

2. Losing finalists in 1974 and 1978
6. The host nation of the first World Cup
8. One of the losing semi-finalists in the 2002 World Cup
13. The only person to have scored a hat trick in a World Cup final. Geoff ____________
14. Brazil beat which host nation 5-2 in 1958 to win the World Cup?
16. Cameroon and which other African nation have reached the quarter-final of the World Cup – the furthest an African team has made?
17. Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya. Which of these four North African nations has never appeared at a finals?
18. Sent off in the 2006 World Cup final
19. First person to win the World Cup as a player
and a manager?
20. Juste Fontaine scored the most goals in one World Cup than anyone else. Which country is he from?

Down

1. Eusebio starred for which country in 1966?
3. Germany beat which country 8-0 in the 2002 finals?
4. Host nation of 2010 World Cup
5. Three players from which London club played on the England World Cup winning team of 1966?
7. Host city of the 2002 World Cup final
9. Which country hosted the 1954 World Cup?
10. 1966 World Cup final stadium name.
11. This country has played in all World Cup finals
12. World Cup winners in 1978
15. The number of countries to have won the World Cup.

We are in the run-in to many of the European league’s title races. If we look at the Premier League, it is Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham in the top four, while in La Liga Real Madrid are first, followed by Barcelona, Valencia and Mallorca.

Most league tables are based on how many points a team has. How about these top fours? How are they decided?

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. | Subscribe: Football Quiz

In this week’s quiz we ask how much you know about La Liga in Spain? The answers will appear tomorrow.

1. Which team has won most La Liga titles?
a. Barcelona
b. Real Madrid
c. Valencia
d. Athletic Bilbao

2. Which was the last team apart from Barcelona or Real Madrid to win La Liga?
a. Deportivo La Coruña
b. Atlético de Madrid
c. Valencia
d. Villareal

3. Three teams have never been relegated from the top division in Spain. Real Madrid and Barcelona are two of them – who is the other team?
a. Sevilla
b. Athletic Bilbao
c. Atlético de Madrid
d. Valencia

4. Which current La Liga side play at San Mamés
a. Malaga
b. Athletic Bilbao
c. Valencia
d. Villareal

5. What is the Pichichi
a. The award for the top scorer in the league
b. The nickname for Real Madrid’s stadium
c. The award for the best goalkeeper in the league
d. The nickname of the Spanish league trophy

6. Who was the top scorer in La Liga last season?
a. Leo Messi
b. Diego Forlán
c. Samuel Eto’o
d. Raul

How much can you remember from the footballing world in 2009? Who were the winners and losers over the past 12 months? Try languagecaster’s end-of-year quiz below and see how much of a football fan you really are! Answers can be found by subscribing to our newsletter here or by listening to next week’s podcast. There are 20 questions in all. Good luck!

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1. Name the recently-crowned champions of the following countries’ leagues?
a. Argentina -
b. Brazil -
c. Japan -
d. USA -

2. Which three teams were relegated from the Premier League in 2009?

3. Name the four semi-finalists of the 2009 Champions League.

4. Racism reared its ugly head on many occasions this year but what’s the name of the UK’s anti-racism in football group?

5. How many countries that qualified for the World Cup this year have done so for the first time ever?

6. Which Brazilian club side does Ronaldo play for?

7. Manchester City’s new manager Roberto Mancini has managed three Italian clubs, which ones?

8. How many of the 20 Premier League clubs currently have a manager from England?

9. It’s the winter break in Europe, which teams are currently leading in the following countries?
a. Spain -
b. Italy -
c. Germany -
d. Portugal -

10. Which team won the UEFA Cup in 2009?

11. How many titles did Barcelona win in 2009?

12. Manchester United’s Ryan Giggs has won more domestic honours than any other player in English football. How many titles (FA Cup, League and League Cup) has he won?

13. Can you name all 32 teams that will participate in the 2010 World Cup?

14. The European Championship for women took place in Finland in September, which teams played in the final and what was the score? Where does the next Women’s World Cup take place?

15. Juventus, Bayern Munich and Chelsea all fired their managers during the first part of 2009. Name those who were sacked and who replaced them.

16. Former England manager Sir Bobby Robson died in August this year. What was his last game in charge of the England national team?

17. What do the following countries have in common?
Turkey, Croatia, Sweden, Romania, Austria, Poland, Russia, Czech Republic

18. Which club team is the current Asian Champions?

19. How old is Lionel Messi?

20. In which city did the World Cup draw take place?