Quiz: how well do you know your World Cup balls?

Ousmane Dembélé keeps his eye on the ball. Photograph: Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images

1. The ball for the 2018 tournament is the latest iteration of the Adidas Telstar – the actually-pretty-smart-looking Telstar 18. When was the Telstar first used at a World Cup?

   1. 1966

   2. 1970

   3. 1974

   4. 1978

2. 

   What was the name of this underwhelming number next to David Beckham from the 2002 tournament in Japan and South Korea?

   1. Starflight

   2. Shuriken

   3. Tamagoru

   4. Fevernova

3. 

   The Divine Ponytail holds the Questra during USA 94. Why was it called Questra?

   1. It literally means "the quest for the stars" and 1994 marked the 25th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission

   2. It is the name of the US city where the first football on American soil is believed to have been played

   3. It’s a portmanteau of the Spanish words for "quest for the gold"

   4. It’s simply Spanish for "victory"

4. 

   Adidas held a poll to name the 2014 ball, with Brazuca getting over 70% of the votes. What were the other names on the ballot?

   1. Joga ball-ito and Caxirola

   2. Bossa Nova and Carnavalesca

   3. Samba and Copacabana

   4. Boabola and Rapidez

5. The 1982 Tango España has what claim to fame?

   1. It was the first Tango matchball to appear at a World Cup

   2. It was the last fully leather ball used at a World Cup

   3. It is the heaviest ball ever used at a World Cup

   4. It was also used at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona

6. Who made the ball at the 1966 tournament?

   1. Admiral

   2. Slazenger

   3. Mitre

   4. Umbro

7. The ball for the 1962 tournament was so useless it was replaced by the one used in Sweden 1958 – the Top Star. The demise of the 1962 ball, made by Chilean manufacturer Zamora, is something of a shame as it had an eye-catching name. What was it?

   1. Mr Crack

   2. Mr Smack

   3. Mr Whack

   4. Mr Spank

8. 

   Nigel De Jong crashes his boot into Xabi Alonso’s chest, presumably confused by the fact that, having played with the Jabulani for the whole tournament in 2010, a new ball was used for the final. What was it called?

   1. Hambani

   2. Tango 14 Africa

   3. Vuvuzela

   4. Jo’bulani

9. 

   These flourishes on the Tricolore, used at France 1998, are supposed to represent what?

   1. The Gallic cockerel, high-speed trains and the turbine

   2. The Eiffel Tower

   3. The waves that crash against the west coast of France

   4. Liberté, égalité and fraternité

10. 

    What’s the name of this ball being nodded away by the Germany head coach Jürgen Klinsmann?

    1. Torschnell

    2. Punkte

    3. Teamgeist

    4. Europass

Solutions

1:B - The new black and white design was apparently introduced to make the ball easier to see on black and white TVs., 2:D - Beckham was a fan. He called the ball "exceptional". Gianluigi Buffon disagreed: "It’s a ridiculous kiddy's bouncing ball.", 3:A - The original detailing on the balls used in 1994 was a space scene of stars and planets, 4:B - The Bossa Nova picked up just over 14%, Carnavalesca just over 7%, 5:B - Four years later came the arrival of a polyurethane coating, 6:B - The Slazenger Challenge was the one smacked home by Geoff Hurst in the final, 7:A - In attempt to move ball design forward Zamora used octagonal panels rather than the traditional long ones. Not a great success, but the idea was solid – Adidas would get there a few years later, 8:D - See what they did there? , 9:A - It feels a bit of a stretch, though you can just about make them out if you stare at the ball long enough. Fifa say this is "the first multicoloured official match ball", 10:C - The first ball to shy away from the 32-panel structure that had been de rigueur since 1970. This had just 14

Scores

1. 10 and above.

   Winner, winner, chicken dinner

2. 9 and above.

   So close!

3. 8 and above.

   Champions League level

4. 7 and above.

   Europa League level

5. 6 and above.

   Just outside the European places

6. 5 and above.

   Mid-table safety

7. 4 and above.

   Work to do

8. 3 and above.

   Below average

9. 2 and above.

   Pretty poor

10. 0 and above.

    Useless

11. 1 and above.

    Not great