Duncan Alexander: The England Friendlies Quiz

THEY say there’s no such thing as a friendly in International football and ahead of The Three Lions’ double header against Switzerland and Ivory Coast we’ve come up with a belter of a quiz, guaranteed to have you noodle scratching in abundance!

Think you’ve got what it takes to tackle it? Bring it on!

 

QUESTIONS

1) England’s first seven friendlies in the 1870s were all against Scotland. How many of them did England win?

• One
• Three
• Five
• Seven

 

2) Who was the last Bolton player to score for England in a friendly?

• Tom Finney
• Nat Lofthouse
• Kevin Davies
• Michael Ricketts

 

3) Who scored two headed goals in the last five minutes as England beat Argentina 3-2 in a friendly in November 2005?

• Peter Crouch
• Wayne Rooney
• Ledley King
• Michael Owen

 

4) Which nation last won a friendly against England at Wembley?

• Germany
• Netherlands
• Spain
• France

 

5) England’s second goalscorer in a 4-2 friendly defeat to Sweden in 2012 played for which nation at AFCON earlier this year?

• Senegal
• Ivory Coast
• Sierra Leone
• Nigeria

28 years ago today: A blatant red card, a rubbish ref and a rotten night in Rotterdam for Graham Taylor’s England…

“WHAT HAVE THEY BEEN INSTRUCTED?”

“LINESMAN! LINESMAAAN!!!”

“WHAT SORT OF THING IS HAPPENING HERE…?”pic.twitter.com/06Zobcq3f8

— A Funny Old Game (@sid_lambert) October 13, 2021

 

6) Which player scored the final five friendly game goals of the Graham Taylor era?

• David Platt
• Gary Lineker
• Des Walker
• Alan Shearer

 

7) Harry Kane’s last goal in an England friendly came in June 2018 vs Nigeria. How many competitive goals has he scored for England since then?

• 12
• 18
• 27
• 35

 

8) Of Gary Lineker’s final 13 goals for England, how many came in friendlies?

• None
• Three
• Seven
• 11

https://twitter.com/Football__Tweet/status/1255454361993588740?s=20&t=FPdyrKjCYExXGlb7DixFCA

 

9) England haven’t scored more than three goals in a friendly since March 2009. Who were they playing?

• Slovenia
• Slovakia
• Czech Republic
• Switzerland

 

10) Who was the last England player to score with a direct free-kick in a friendly?

• Harry Kane
• David Beckham
• Kieran Richardson
• Daniel Sturridge

ENGLAND v SWITZERLAND – FULL BETTING

ANSWERS

1)  The ‘auld enemy’ had the upper hand, with England winning just ONE of their first seven clashes!

2)  A legend of the game! Nat Lofthouse (vs USSR, October 1958) was the last Bolton player to net.

3)  Give yourself a pat on the back if you got this one – Michael Owen was the head boy on that occasion!

4)  Were you there? The Netherlands were the last team to beat England in a friendly (March 2016).

5)  Once of Spurs and Liverpool… Sierra Leone’s (Steven Caulker) is your man!

6) An underrated mainstay of the team, David Platt scored the last five of Taylor’s reign.

Goal 103: David Platt vs Belgium, 1990. #Greatest90sGoals pic.twitter.com/ZVe6Eus7Nl

— 90s Football (@90sfootball) November 17, 2017

7) Deadly! Kane has scored 35 competitive goals since last netting in a friendly!

8) Goal poacher! 11 of Lineker’s last 13 goals came in friendlies!

9) Slovakia were the team England bolstered their goal tally against!

10) Kieran Richardson was the last player to score with a direct free-kick for England in a friendly. A bonus point if you named the opposition – (USA, May 2005)

 

ENGLAND v IVORY COAST – FULL MATCH BETTING