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Home » Culture, history and society » Everyday science » It’s all kicking off: how much do you know about the science of football?

It’s all kicking off: how much do you know about the science of football?

10 Jun 2026

The 2026 FIFA World Cup starts on 11 June, with men’s teams from 48 countries competing for the famous gold trophy. Test your knowledge of the physics of football with our quiz, written by Colin White

Two football players converging on the ball with legs raised ready to kick
(Courtesy: iStock/Anton Vierietin)

There are 10 questions in total: blue is your current question and white means unanswered, with green and red being right and wrong.

How well did you do?

0–3 Shambolic performance, didn’t even get past the group stage

4–6 Solid effort, but crumbled in the knock-out rounds

7–9 Great showing, just bottled it when the game went to extra time

10 Congratulations, you’re a World Cup winner!

Colin White, author of Projectile Dynamics in Sport: Principles and Applications, was a lecturer in physics and sports science at the University of Portsmouth, UK, where he was also the science faculty’s education director. Now retired, he is a STEM ambassador
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