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Interior of Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
Photo: لا روسا, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Guess the Football Player

Guess the Football Player: 15 rounds. Look at each clue, pick the right answer and beat the clock. No sign-up, instant score, and every answer revealed at the end.

15 questionsMixed (easy → hard)~3 minNo timer

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About this Guess the Football Player quiz

Guess the football player is a 15-round clue game: read the career facts, debut details, nicknames and famous moments in each question, then pick the right star from four names. There are no photos to squint at; the clues do the work, so you need to know what players actually achieved rather than just recognise a face. One round even gives you an emoji string to decode, so it plays like a mix of football quiz and puzzle.

The rounds run from easy to hard. Early clues point to legends like Pele, Maradona and Zidane, then the guess the football player quiz moves through modern stars from the Premier League and the World Cup before finishing with stumpers on Ballon d'Or history and the record books. Players come from every corner of the game, including Brazil, France, Egypt, South Korea, Liberia and India, so a few rounds also test whether you can guess the football player's country from the story.

It suits teenagers and adults, casual fans and five-a-side know-alls alike. Play it on your own to test yourself, or read the clues out loud as a football guess-the-player game with friends and see who shouts the right name first. Every answer comes with a short explanation, so even a wrong guess teaches you something.

Fun fact: in 1963 the Soviet goalkeeper Lev Yashin won the Ballon d'Or, and the award for the best goalkeeper at the ceremony is still named after him.

Guess the Football Player questions with answers

Show answers
  1. Which footballer is this? Clue: I scored the 'Hand of God' goal against England at the 1986 World Cup and captained Argentina to the trophy that summer.

    A stocky footballer with dark curly hair in a light-blue and white kit.
    Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
    • Gabriel Batistuta
    • Diego Maradona
    • Mario Kempes
    • Juan Roman Riquelme

    Answer: Diego Maradona. Diego Maradona scored two famous goals in that quarter-final: the handball 'Hand of God' and a solo run past five England players often called the Goal of the Century.

  2. Which footballer is this? Clue: I won the FIFA World Cup three times with Brazil (1958, 1962 and 1970) and spent most of my club career at Santos.

    A footballer in a yellow shirt carried shoulder-high by a celebrating crowd.
    Photo: Unknown - Distributed by the Associated Press, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
    • Pele
    • Garrincha
    • Zico
    • Socrates

    Answer: Pele. Pele is the only player to have won three World Cups. He was just 17 when he scored twice in the 1958 final in Sweden.

  3. Which footballer is this? Clue: I won the World Cup with France at 19 in 2018, and four years later I scored a hat-trick in the final yet still finished on the losing side.

    A young striker in a blue national-team kit mid-match.
    Photo: Bryan Berlin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
    • Antoine Griezmann
    • Olivier Giroud
    • Kylian Mbappe
    • Ousmane Dembele

    Answer: Kylian Mbappe. Kylian Mbappe scored three times in the 2022 final against Argentina, which France lost on penalties. Geoff Hurst (1966) is the only other man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final.

  4. Which footballer is this? Clue: I scored on my India debut against Pakistan in 2005, became India's most-capped player and all-time top scorer, and captained Bengaluru FC.

    An Indian footballer in a blue kit on the pitch.
    Photo: Mehdi Zare, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
    • Bhaichung Bhutia
    • IM Vijayan
    • Gurpreet Singh Sandhu
    • Sunil Chhetri

    Answer: Sunil Chhetri. Sunil Chhetri has scored more international goals than any other Indian footballer. His debut goal came in a 1-1 draw in June 2005.

  5. Which footballer is this? Clue: I was born in Leeds, sit in a lotus 'meditation' pose after scoring, and hit 36 Premier League goals in my first season at Manchester City.

    A tall blond footballer in a white kit.
    Photo: Bryan Berlin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
    • Martin Odegaard
    • Erling Haaland
    • Alexander Sorloth
    • Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

    Answer: Erling Haaland. Erling Haaland's 36 goals in 2022-23 set a new record for a single Premier League season. He was born in Leeds, where his father Alf-Inge played for Leeds United.

  6. Which footballer is this? Clue: fans call me 'the Egyptian King'. I joined Liverpool from Roma in 2017 and became one of the club's greatest goalscorers.

    A bearded footballer with dark curly hair in a red kit.
    Photo: Bryan Berlin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
    • Sadio Mane
    • Riyad Mahrez
    • Mohamed Salah
    • Achraf Hakimi

    Answer: Mohamed Salah. Mohamed Salah has won the Premier League Golden Boot several times with Liverpool. Mane and Mahrez are from Senegal and Algeria, and Hakimi from Morocco.

  7. Which footballer is this? Clue: I headed two goals in the 1998 World Cup final, was sent off in the 2006 final, and later coached Real Madrid to three Champions League titles in a row.

    A bald man in a dark jacket at a football stadium.
    Photo: Raphaël Labbé, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
    • Thierry Henry
    • Michel Platini
    • Patrick Vieira
    • Zinedine Zidane

    Answer: Zinedine Zidane. Zinedine Zidane's red card in the 2006 final against Italy came in his last match as a player. As a coach he won the Champions League in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

  8. Which footballer is this? Clue: a famous dribbling move is named after me. I first showed it off against Sweden at the 1974 World Cup, dragging the ball behind my standing leg.

    A footballer with shoulder-length hair in an orange Dutch shirt.
    Photo: Rob Mieremet / Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
    • Johan Cruyff
    • Marco van Basten
    • Ruud Gullit
    • Dennis Bergkamp

    Answer: Johan Cruyff. The 'Cruyff turn' left Swedish defender Jan Olsson stranded. Johan Cruyff later shaped Barcelona's passing style as a coach.

  9. Which footballer is this? Clue: known as the 'Black Spider', I kept goal for the Soviet Union, and in 1963 I became the first goalkeeper ever to win the Ballon d'Or.

    A black-and-white photo of a goalkeeper in a dark jersey and cap.
    Photo: Kroon, Ron for Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl, via Wikimedia Commons
    • Dino Zoff
    • Gordon Banks
    • Lev Yashin
    • Gianluigi Buffon

    Answer: Lev Yashin. Lev Yashin always played in black. The award for the best goalkeeper at the Ballon d'Or ceremony, the Yashin Trophy, is named after him.

  10. Which footballer is this? Clue: I won the Golden Ball at the 2018 World Cup and then the 2018 Ballon d'Or, ending ten straight years of Messi and Ronaldo winning it.

    A dark-haired midfielder in a red-and-white chequered kit.
    Photo: Bryan Berlin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
    • Ivan Rakitic
    • Luka Modric
    • Mateo Kovacic
    • Davor Suker

    Answer: Luka Modric. Luka Modric led Croatia to the 2018 World Cup final. Messi or Ronaldo had won every Ballon d'Or from 2008 to 2017.

  11. Which footballer is this? Clue: in 2021-22 I shared the Premier League Golden Boot with 23 goals for Tottenham, becoming the first Asian player to win it.

    A smiling Asian footballer in a white club kit.
    Photo: Ujishadow, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
    • Park Ji-sung
    • Kim Min-jae
    • Son Heung-min
    • Hwang Hee-chan

    Answer: Son Heung-min. Son Heung-min of South Korea shared that Golden Boot with Mohamed Salah, who also scored 23 goals.

  12. Which footballer is this? Clue: I am Arsenal's all-time top scorer, I went unbeaten through the 2003-04 Premier League season, and a statue of me stands outside the Emirates Stadium.

    A tall former striker in a dark coat at a media event.
    Photo: Web Summit, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
    • Thierry Henry
    • Ian Wright
    • Robin van Persie
    • Dennis Bergkamp

    Answer: Thierry Henry. Thierry Henry scored 228 goals for Arsenal and was the star of the 'Invincibles', the team that went 38 league games without defeat.

  13. Guess the football player: I scored 13 goals at a single World Cup, in Sweden in 1958, playing for France. Who am I?

    • Eusebio
    • Gerd Muller
    • Raymond Kopa
    • Just Fontaine

    Answer: Just Fontaine. Just Fontaine's 13 goals in six matches is still the most by any player at one World Cup. His teammate Raymond Kopa set up many of them.

  14. Which footballer is this? Clue: in 1995 I became the first player representing an African nation to win the Ballon d'Or, while playing for AC Milan. Years later I was elected President of my country.

    A smiling man in a suit and tie at an official event.
    Photo: U.S. Embassy in Monrovia, Liberia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
    • Samuel Eto'o
    • Didier Drogba
    • Abedi Pele
    • George Weah

    Answer: George Weah. George Weah of Liberia won the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year in 1995, and served as President of Liberia from 2018 to 2024.

  15. Which footballer is this? Clue: I spent my entire 25-season playing career at AC Milan, mostly at left-back, and the club retired my No. 3 shirt.

    A dark-haired man in a light-blue shirt outdoors.
    Photo: GOAL TV, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
    • Franco Baresi
    • Paolo Maldini
    • Alessandro Nesta
    • Fabio Cannavaro

    Answer: Paolo Maldini. Paolo Maldini played for Milan from 1985 to 2009 and won five European Cups. His father Cesare also captained Milan.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I find Guess the Football Player questions with answers?

Right on this page. Play the quiz to see each answer and its explanation as you go, or open the answers section below to read all 15 questions with the correct player and a short note on why. It works as a ready-made football quiz guess-the-player sheet for a pub night or classroom.

How many questions are in this Guess the Football Player quiz?

There are 15 rounds, ordered roughly from easy to hard. Most people finish in about four to five minutes. Each round gives you career clues and four possible players to choose from.

Can I play the Guess the Football Player quiz online for free without signing up?

Yes. The game is completely free and needs no account or login. Press start, play all 15 rounds, and your score appears instantly at the end, ready to share with friends.

Why are there no player photos in this guess the football player game?

Player photos are protected by copyright, so every round uses written clues instead: trophies, transfers, nicknames, records and the odd emoji. That also makes it fairer, because you have to know the player's story rather than just spot a famous face.