Savvy Soccer Specialist Trivia Quiz

Answer: Goal

There are two goal nets on each side of the court, each of them guarded by a goalkeeper. Every player on the field can score a goal, although strikers and forwards are usually the ones tasked with that responsibility. Although the feet and the head are the most common body part used to score, there have been instances where players use the back of their head, their chest, and even their back! (Mexican player Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez is known for some of his eccentric goals.)

Answer: 11

In professional soccer, each team can have eleven players (including the goalkeeper) on the field at once. They also have several players on the bench, since three substitutions are allowed (although in friendly games, managers can choose to make more substitutions if that is previously agreed upon between the managers and the referee).

Some variations of the sport, such as indoor soccer, sometimes have different rules in terms of how many players can be on the pitch at once.

Answer: Black

When football started, referees showed up in a much more elegant fashion than they do now! They wore dark blazers until the 1950's, when they switched to more athletic, and probably more comfortable, jerseys. Referees are sometimes nicknamed "men in black" because they traditionally used all-black clothing when officiating. Remember that at that time, TV was still black and white.

Answer: Penalty kick

Penalty kicks are considered one of the easiest ways to score a goal in soccer. There are two boxes near the goal nets; the larger one is used to determine the penalty area. When a player is fouled inside the box, no matter how big or small the foul is (though referees sometimes have different criteria), a penalty kick is signaled and the team that received the foul gets a unique chance to score in a one-on-one fashion against the goalkeeper. With time, goalkeepers have gotten better at predicting where the ball will go and then stopping it, but it is still very hard!

Answer: Yellow

Cards were first used in the Mexico 1970 FIFA World Cup, in an effort to make cautions from referees more clear than they were. Much like a yellow traffic light, a yellow card is meant to be a warning to "slow down", or be warned that if a player keeps misbehaving, they will be sent off.

Infractions that can cause players to receive yellow cards include strong fouls, verbally or physically questioning a referee's decision, or delaying the game (which usually happens toward the end of a match when one team is winning).

Answer: Red

Red cards, which were introduced in the 1970 World Cup with the yellow card, are used by referees to expel a player from a match. When a player is sent off, they cannot participate in the remainder of the match, and are also suspended for the next match (in extreme cases, a suspension can be more than one game). Common causes for red cards include violence, a foul that directly impedes a goal-scoring opportunity, or even using offensive language. Players may also receive a red card if they get two yellow cards in one match.

Answer: Flag

Assistant referees are positioned in opposite halves of the field. Their job is to aid the referee in making decisions, though the main referee has the power to make the final decision. Linesmen have several duties, such as indicating if there is a foul, or if the ball leaves the field of play.

However, one of their most common tasks is to signal offsides, a violation that occurs when a player actively involved in an action is found closer to the goal line than a player of the opposite team. If a player is indeed behind all defenders but does not interfere with the play, then there is no violation.

Answer: Throw-in

If the ball leaves the field via the lines behind the goalkeepers, then either a goal kick or a corner kick is awarded (depending on who last touched the ball). However, if the ball leaves the field via the lateral sidelines, a throw-in is awarded. Players who execute a throw-in will grab the ball with both hands, place both their arms behind and over their head, and then throw the ball into the field. Though it is rare (since professionals are expected to know how to execute a throw-in), there are cases when a referee deems a throw-in as invalid, and the other team gets the throw-in.

Answer: 90 minutes

Law 7 of the Laws of the Game stipulates that a match should have two halves of 45 minutes each. Since time does not stop whenever the game stops (as what happens in sports like American football), stoppage time is added at the end of each half to compensate for the lost time. Because of this, it is common to see matches that last a little over 90 minutes. If a match in a special circumstance (such as a tournament final) is tied at the end of the 90 minutes, then an extra 30 minutes (divided into two 15-minute halves) are played. If both teams are still tied at the end of overtime, then the match is decided through a penalty shoot-out.

Answer: Video

The introduction of technology to football has long been controversial. Joseph Blatter, president of FIFA from 1998 to 2015, was largely opposed to these changes, which is one of the reasons why there was little technology used in that time period. VAR (or Video Assistant Referee) technology allows the referee to review a difficult play on the sidelines, with assistance from other referees that are in a video operation room.

The final decision rests on the match official, but VAR officials can encourage a referee to review a play where the decision may be open to reasonable doubt.

The first FIFA World Cup to use VAR was Russia 2018. The technology helped sanction several penalty kicks that the head referee initially missed. Another important aid that was introduced in soccer is goal-line technology, which helps a referee determine if the ball crossed the goal line through a sensor system.