Sports quiz of the week: Cricket World Cup, Mikaela Shiffrin and Argentina

Mikaela Shiffrin, Virat Kohli, Lionel Messi Composite: Getty Images, Reuters

1. India will play Australia in the Cricket World Cup final on Sunday, a repeat of which final?

   1. 1987

   2. 2003

   3. 2007

   4. 2015

2. 

   Australia lost their first two matches at the World Cup. They were beaten by India and …

   1. England

   2. South Africa

   3. New Zealand

   4. Afghanistan

3. Girona are top of the table in La Liga after 13 matches this season. What is the highest they have ever finished in the Spanish league?

   1. They won three titles in the 1970s

   2. They were third last season

   3. 10th

   4. This is their first season in the top flight

4. 

   Las Vegas is hosting an F1 grand prix this weekend. When is it due to begin (local time)?

   1. Saturday at 3pm

   2. Saturday at 10pm

   3. Sunday at 7am

   4. Sunday at 11.59pm

5. Which team lost a Premier League match on Saturday despite being in the lead for 88 minutes?

   1. Nottingham Forest

   2. Tottenham

   3. Crystal Palace

   4. Fulham

6. 

   Mikaela Shiffrin, one of the all-time great skiers, won another World Cup slalom competition this week in Finland. What was she given as part of her prize?

   1. An invitation to meet Santa in Lapland

   2. A reindeer

   3. A framed picture of Sanna Marin

   4. An eight-person sauna that will be shipped to her house in Colorado

7. Joasia Zakrzewski, one of the best ultra-marathon runners in the UK, has been banned for 12 months. Why?

   1. She used a skateboard during a race

   2. She ripped off a rival’s shirt during a race, claiming the number on her bib – 666 – was "distracting"

   3. She swapped places with her twin sister midway through a race to record a faster time

   4. She jumped into her friend’s car for part of a 50-mile race

8. 

   Endrick made his Brazil debut in their 2-1 defeat to Colombia on Thursday. He is just 17 years old. Who is Brazil's youngest ever player?

   1. Ronaldo

   2. Neymar

   3. Pelé

   4. Vinicius Junior

9. Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder are fighting in Saudi Arabia on 23 December – but not against each other. Who are their opponents?

   1. Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk

   2. Otto Wallin and Joseph Parker

   3. Francis Ngannou and Joe Joyce

   4. Jarrell Miller and Zhilei Zhang

10. 

    The Golden State Warriors player Draymond Green has been suspended by the NBA after he put an opponent in a headlock during a match. He will not be paid during his five-match ban – how much will it cost him in forfeited salary?

    1. $13,999

    2. $99,762

    3. $250,000

    4. $769,704

11. Who has joined the Belfast Giants ice hockey team on loan to help them alleviate an injury crisis?

    1. Owen Hargreaves

    2. Petr Cech

    3. Tristan Gretzky

    4. Junior Hoilett

12. 

    Marie-Louise Eta is the new assistant manager at Union Berlin, which makes her the first female coach appointed by a Bundesliga team. Eta had a glittering career as a player, winning three league titles and the Champions League with which club?

    1. Turbine Potsdam

    2. Lyon

    3. Bayern Munich

    4. Barcelona

13. Argentina lost 2-0 at home to Uruguay in a World Cup qualifier this week. The match was played at La Bombonera, the home of Boca Juniors. Why was it not played at El Monumental, the home of River Plate, as expected?

    1. Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni refused to play at River’s ground as he is a former Boca player

    2. The Argentina football association wanted to make the journey longer for the visiting Uruguay players

    3. Taylor Swift was playing at El Monumental

    4. El Monumental is being used as a counting centre for the presidential election

14. 

    Andrey Rublev left his match against Carlos Alcaraz at the ATP Finals beaten and bloodied. Rublev lost in straight sets. How did he cut himself?

    1. He headbutted a camera that he felt was “too close for comfort”

    2. He smashed his leg with his racket six times after losing a point

    3. He tripped over the net, fell on his face and cut his nose

    4. He was hit in the face with a ball thrown by a ball boy

15. England are playing Malta this weekend in a Euro 2024 qualifier. England have won all six of their previous meetings. In fact, Malta’s only goal in those six games was an own goal by an England goalkeeper. Who scored it?

    1. Joe Hart

    2. Nigel Martyn

    3. Richard Wright

    4. Jordan Pickford

Solutions

1:B - Australia won by 125 runs in Johannesburg., 2:B - India are the only team in the tournament to have won all of their matches. , 3:C - They finished 10th last season but have never challenged for the title before., 4:B - It will be the first Saturday grand prix since 1985. F1 has gone all out to make the event engaging for American fans, but the reigning world champion was unimpressed saying the race is "99% show, 1% sporting event" and that the track is "not that exciting"., 5:B - Are Spurs back to being Spursy?, 6:B - She has won the race seven times, earning her seven reindeers. The animals live on a local farm in Finland., 7:D - Zakrzewski claims she wasn’t trying to cheat but that she accepted a trophy at the end of the race because she couldn’t think straight after taking a long flight the day before., 8:C - Pelé was 16 when he made his international debut. He scored but Brazil lost 2-1 to Argentina. , 9:B - Daniel Dubois, Filip Hrgovic and Dmitry Bivol are also on the bill., 10:D - He has also been fined $25,000. Fret not – his salary this season is $22.3m., 11:B - The Belfast Giants are the reigning champions in the Elite League, the top tier in the UK. , 12:A - Turbine Potsdam beat Lyon on penalties in the final in 2010. , 13:C - Swift performed three shows at the stadium on her Eras tour. , 14:B - When asked if he was injured after the match Rublev replied: "It’s OK. Nothing happened.", 15:C - It was his debut and he gave away two penalty kicks. The first penalty rebounded off the post, hit his head and went into the net. He saved the second and England won 2-1.

Scores

1. 1 and above.

   Ah well. Better luck next week.

2. 2 and above.

   Ah well. Better luck next week.

3. 3 and above.

   Ah well. Better luck next week.

4. 4 and above.

   Ah well. Better luck next week.

5. 5 and above.

   Not bad. Not bad at all.

6. 6 and above.

   Not bad. Not bad at all.

7. 7 and above.

   Not bad. Not bad at all.

8. 8 and above.

   Not bad. Not bad at all.

9. 9 and above.

   Well played. Have a great weekend.

10. 10 and above.

    Well played. Have a great weekend.

11. 11 and above.

    Well played. Have a great weekend.

12. 12 and above.

    Well played. Have a great weekend.

13. 13 and above.

    Well played. Have a great weekend.

14. 14 and above.

    Well played. Have a great weekend.

15. 0 and above.

    Ah well. Better luck next week.

16. 15 and above.

    Top marks. Well played. Have a great weekend.