Quiz: test your knowledge of World Cup flags

A collection of World Cup flags. Photograph: Public domain

Remember when that trendy supply geography teacher tried to get you interested in the subject via the medium of some worksheet about the World Cup? Well, this is like that, except you can’t pass notes around at the back of the class. These flags have featured at the World Cup. How many can you recognise?

World Cup flags quiz

1. 

   This country appeared at the World Cup once, in 1990, and lost all three of their group games. Who is it?

   1. United Arab Emirates

   2. Qatar

   3. Kuwait

   4. Jordan

2. Wales made their only World Cup appearance in Sweden in 1958. What flag did they appear under?

   1. 

      This flag?

   2. 

      This flag?

   3. 

      This flag?

   4. 

      Or this one?

3. 

   Which country competed under this flag at the 1934 World Cup?

   1. Spain

   2. Cuba

   3. Bolivia

   4. Ecuador

4. Angola qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 2006. Which of these is their flag?

   1. 

      This?

   2. 

      This?

   3. 

      This?

   4. 

      This?

5. Haiti made it to the 1974 World Cup finals. Can you identify their flag?

   1. 

      This?

   2. 

      This?

   3. 

      This?

   4. 

      This?

6. 

   This European nation made their World Cup debut in 2014. Who is it?

   1. Bosnia and Herzegovina

   2. Montenegro

   3. Iceland

   4. Slovenia

7. All these flags have been at the World Cup. Which one belongs to Slovakia?

   1. 

      This?

   2. 

      This?

   3. 

      This?

   4. 

      This?

8. 

   This African country only appeared at one World Cup, where they conceded 14 goals and scored none. Who were they?

   1. Burkina Faso

   2. Uganda

   3. Zambia

   4. Zaire

9. How many of the countries at the 2018 World Cup have a flag that only features the colours red and white?

   1. Three

   2. Four

   3. Five

   4. Six

10. 

    Which Southeast Asian country played once in the World Cup, doing so under the flag associated with their colonial government?

    1. Dutch East Indies

    2. Mauritius

    3. Malaysia

    4. Thailand

11. Honduras and El Salvador qualified for the 1982 World Cup. Which of these is the Honduras flag?

    1. 

       This one?

    2. 

       Or this?

12. Can you recognise the flag of the next World Cup hosts, Qatar?

    1. 

       This?

    2. 

       This?

    3. 

       This?

    4. 

       This?

Solutions

1:A - The UAE lost 2-0 to Colombia in Bologna on their World Cup debut, then went on to suffer heavy defeats to Germany and Yugoslavia, 2:B - This was their flag for the 1958 World Cup. The Y Ddraig Goch we know and love today was only adopted in 1959. Of the other options, the yellow cross on black is the flag of St David, and the red dragon with blue is the flag of the city of Puerto Madryn in Argentina., 3:A - This was the flag used for the Second Spanish Republic during the 1930s. The current Spanish flag was adopted as recently as October 1981., 4:D - Angola only scored one goal in their three group matches, but got draws against both Iran (1-1) and Mexico (0-0)., 5:C - Yes, the Haitian team appeared under this flag, which was used during the Duvalier dictatorship. The flag was restored to the present day blue and red combination in 1986., 6:A - Bosnia and Herzegovina made it to Brazil in their fifth qualifying attempt as an independent nation. They lost to Argentina and Nigeria in the group stage before winning their final game against Iran 3-1., 7:C - Yes, this is Slovakia, who qualified for the World Cup in 2010. The other flags were Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia., 8:D - Zaire appeared at the 1974 World Cup. The nation now known as DR Congo had a torrid time. Losing 2-0 to Scotland, 3-0 to Brazil and 9-0 to Yugoslavia. Years later it emerged that the team were playing under duress due to the threats of Zaire's dictator Mobutu Sese Seko., 9:D - Tunisia, Denmark, England, Japan, Poland and Switzerland. Peru almost count, but then they've got a multi-coloured coat of arms in the middle of their flag which includes a depiction of their national animal, the llama-like Vicuña., 10:A - Indonesia appeared as the Dutch East Indies, one of only three non-European countries to take part in the 1938 World Cup in France. Brazil and Cuba were the others., 11:B - This is the Honduras flag. We altered the El Salvador one slightly, as it actually says El Salvador on it. The two countries briefly went to war in 1969 in what was known as La guerra del fútbol after rioting after a World Cup qualifier escalated tensions that already existed between the two countries., 12:D - Yes this is Qatar's flag - although slightly squished to be honest as it is designed as a more an elongated banner than most flags.

Scores

1. 11 and above.

   Well done. The supply geography teachers loves you.

2. 12 and above.

   Well done. The supply geography teachers loves you.

3. 9 and above.

   Well done. The supply geography teachers loves you.

4. 8 and above.

   Not bad - there's some tricky questions in there.

5. 7 and above.

   Not bad - there's some tricky questions in there.

6. 5 and above.

   Could do better.

7. 4 and above.

   Could do better.

8. 2 and above.

   Ooof, that's harsh.

9. 1 and above.

   Ooof, that's harsh.

10. 3 and above.

    Could do better.

11. 6 and above.

    Not bad - there's some tricky questions in there.

12. 0 and above.

    Ooof, that's harsh.

13. 10 and above.

    Well done. The supply geography teachers loves you.