Sports quiz of the week: champions, challengers, crowds and changes

Beth Mead, Ireland v Wales and Andreas Brehme. Composite: Getty Images

1. What was unusual about the Liverpool team Jürgen Klopp picked for their 4-1 win against Brentford at the weekend?

   1. It was the same XI he picked the week before – the first time Klopp has picked an unchanged team in his Liverpool career

   2. It featured 11 players from 11 different countries

   3. None of the players were in the Liverpool squad that won the league in 2020

   4. All 11 players were under the age of 23

2. 

   Which rule change is being trialled for the long jump – an idea that four-time Olympic ­champion Carl Lewis has derided as like an “April Fools’ joke”?

   1. Athletes will have to jump in bare feet

   2. The take-off board will be removed, meaning athletes can jump without worrying about fouling

   3. Jumpers will land in water rather than sand

   4. Athletes will be given five jumps each rather than three

3. Wales are playing the rugby union world champions South Africa in June. Why is the game being played at Twickenham rather than at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff?

   1. Crufts is taking place at the Principality in June

   2. The Wales manager wants his team to gain “the experience of playing in a hostile environment”

   3. Taylor Swift has already booked the stadium in Cardiff

   4. The South Africa team agreed to play an extra match but only if they didn’t have to travel beyond London

4. 

   Ireland are playing Wales in the Six Nations this weekend. Ireland have won their last 10 matches in the competition. Who are the only team to have won 11 in a row in the Six Nations?

   1. Ireland

   2. France

   3. England

   4. Wales

5. Ashwath Kaushik and Leonid Ivanovic have both beaten chess grandmasters in the last few weeks. Why is that surprising?

   1. They are also professional snooker players

   2. They are siblings who were separated at birth and only found each other last year

   3. They are both eight years old

   4. They are 100 years old

6. 

   Andreas Brehme died this week at the age of 63. He scored penalties in two World Cups – against Mexico in 1986 and against Argentina in 1990. What was unusual about his technique?

   1. They were both Panenkas that went in off the crossbar

   2. He scored one with his left foot and one with his right

   3. He took a one-step “run-up”

   4. He closed his eyes on the run-up to “distract the goalkeeper”

7. Antoine Dupont won the Six Nations player of the tournament last year (and the year before). Where is he competing this weekend?

   1. France

   2. Italy

   3. Qatar

   4. Canada

8. 

   Joe Hart has announced that he will retire after this season. Hart won 75 international caps – the same number as which other England goalkeeper?

   1. Peter Shilton

   2. David Seaman

   3. Jordan Pickford

   4. David James

9. Jesse Lingard was on the scoresheet for his new club this week as they won a pre-season friendly 11-1. Where?

   1. Seychelles

   2. South Korea

   3. Singapore

   4. Samoa

10. 

    Who are Wigan playing in the World Club Challenge this weekend?

    1. Penrith Panthers

    2. South Sydney Rabbitohs

    3. Sydney Roosters

    4. Melbourne Storm

11. Liverpool and Chelsea will meet in the League Cup final on Sunday – a repeat of the final two years ago. That match finished goalless and went to a penalty shootout. There were 22 penalties in the shootout. Who was the only player to miss?

    1. Timo Werner

    2. N’Golo Kanté

    3. Caoimhín Kelleher

    4. Kepa Arrizabalaga

12. 

    Arsenal hosted Manchester United in the Women’s Super League at the weekend. How big was the crowd?

    1. 45,005

    2. 51,777

    3. 56,643

    4. 60,160

13. Which Dutch football club has been knocked out of Europe by Roma in each of the last three seasons?

    1. Feyenoord

    2. PSV Eindhoven

    3. Ajax

    4. FC Twente

14. 

    Ronnie O’Sullivan has been on a great run recently. He won 16 matches in a row. What happened in the 17th?

    1. He played left-handed – and won

    2. He hit two 147 breaks

    3. He won 6-0 by hitting six century breaks

    4. He lost 6-0

15. Complete this sequence: Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Rajkot, Ranchi …

    1. Dharamshala

    2. Mumbai

    3. Kolkata

    4. Chennai

Solutions

1:B - Klopp picked Caoimhin Kelleher (Republic of Ireland), Conor Bradley (Northern Ireland), Ibrahima Konaté (France), Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands), Andy Robertson (Scotland), Curtis Jones (England), Alexis Mac Allister (Argentina), Wataru Endo (Japan), Diogo Jota (Portugal), Luis Díaz (Colombia) and Darwin Núñez (Uruguay). The number of nationalities went up to 12 when Mo Salah of Egypt came off the bench., 2:B - The proposal is designed to cut down on the number of foul jumps, but Lewis is having none of it. “You’re supposed to wait until April 1st for April Fools’ jokes,” he said. “I guess it supports what I’ve been saying, that the long is the most difficult event in track and field. That would just eliminate the most difficult skill from the event. Just make the basket larger for free throws because so many people miss them.”, 3:C - The two teams last met at Twickenham during the 2015 World Cup, when the Springboks won a tense quarter-final 23-19., 4:C - Ireland are also chasing back-to-back grand slams – a feat never previously achieved in the Six Nations., 5:C - They are the first eight-year-olds to win against grandmasters. Kaushik, who started playing an online chess game at the age of four, says his ambition is to become a world champion. “I think I’ve got a natural talent at chess,” he said – something of an understatement., 6:B - When asked about which of his feet was the strongest, he said: “I honestly don’t know. In 1986, I was asked why I’d taken a penalty with my left foot, as I often used my right. I hadn’t even noticed. It makes no difference.”, 7:D - He will be playing in a rugby sevens tournament in Vancouver as part of his preparations for the Olympics in Paris later this year. , 8:B - Shilton is the only England keeper with more caps than Hart., 9:B - Lingard has joined FC Seoul after apparently turning down offers from “26 clubs” around the world. His first competitive match in the K-League could come in their league opener away to Gwangju on 2 March., 10:A - The same team that lost to St Helens in the fixture a year ago., 11:D - It was not Kepa’s best day as a Chelsea player for a few reasons., 12:D - It was the largest crowd in the history of the competition., 13:A - Roma’s reward for beating Feyenoord this week is a last-16 tie against Brighton., 14:D - O’Sullivan was whitewashed by Mark Selby at the Players Championship in Telford., 15:A - These are the venues England are visiting on their five-Test tour of India.

Scores

1. 1 and above.

   Ah well, better luck next time

2. 2 and above.

   Ah well, better luck next time

3. 3 and above.

   Ah well, better luck next time

4. 4 and above.

   Ah well, better luck next time

5. 5 and above.

   That's a fine score. Have a good weekend

6. 6 and above.

   That's a fine score. Have a good weekend

7. 7 and above.

   That's a fine score. Have a good weekend

8. 8 and above.

   That's a fantastic score. Have a super weekend

9. 9 and above.

   That's a fantastic score. Have a super weekend

10. 10 and above.

    Wow. Well played. Have a great weekend

11. 11 and above.

    Wow. Well played. Have a great weekend

12. 12 and above.

    Wow. Well played. Have a great weekend

13. 13 and above.

    Wow. Well played. Have a great weekend

14. 14 and above.

    Wow. Well played. Have a great weekend

15. 0 and above.

    Ah well, better luck next time

16. 15 and above.

    Wow. Well played. Have a great weekend