Blame Game Trivia Quiz

Answer: Colombia

Andres Escobar was a Colombian defender who had a promising future in football. Escobar played for Atlético Nacional for most of his career and was included in Colombia's squads for the 1990 and 1994 World Cups. Colombia arrived at the 1994 tournament as favorites to win their group, but they shockingly ended in the last place of Group A and were eliminated in the first round.

In a match against the United States, Escobar accidentally pushed the ball into his own goal, giving the Americans an advantage (the match ended 2-1 for the U.S.) Months after the Cup, Escobar was murdered in Colombia. It is widely believed that the murderers were upset about the own goal, especially because they were drug lords who had lost money from betting on the match. The tragedy highlighted the violent conditions in the country back then.

Answer: Roberto Baggio

Roberto Baggio is widely regarded as one of the best Italian players in history. Indeed, Baggio was instrumental in Italy's path to the final in the USA '94 World Cup. He scored five goals during the tournament, all of them in the knockout stage (two against Nigeria, one against Spain, and two against Bulgaria). The final was played between Italy and Brazil at the Rose Bowl. After a 0-0 tie in both regular time and extra time, the match had to be decided via a penalty shootout.

The shootout started off badly for both teams: Franco Baresi and Marcio Santos both missed their shots (Italy went first). Romario, Branco, and Dunga would then score all of Brazil's remaining penalties. Despite Albertini and Evani getting the job done for Italy, a miss by Daniele Massaro left the penalty count at 3-2 (after 4 penalties each); and put the Azurri at risk of losing. Shockingly, Roberto Baggio memorably sent his shot over the bar, sealing Brazil's win 3-2 on penalties (there was no need for Brazil to take their 5th penalty shot).

Answer: Byron Moreno

The 2002 World Cup was co-hosted by South Korea and Japan. Both hosts made it through the group stage, and while Japan was knocked out in the round of 16, South Korea made it all the way to semi-finals; and then the third-place game. Unfortunately, South Korea's path was stained by the extremely controversial refereeing of Byron Moreno at their round of 16 match against Italy (the 2002 tournament had an unusual number of refereeing mistakes).

Moreno made several erroneous calls during the match, such as disallowing valid Italian goals or conceding a debated penalty to the South Koreans. South Korea won the match 2-1 aet. After the World Cup, Moreno was suspended at least twice, which effectively ended his career. In 2010, Moreno was arrested at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York for heroin possession.

Answer: Zinedine Zidane

The Germany 2006 World Cup featured two exciting semi-finals: Germany v. Italy and Portugal v. France. Italy went through 2-0, with two extra-time goals, while an early penalty kick by Zinedine Zidane put France in the championship match 1-0. Set to be Zidane's last-ever match, there was a lot of attention on the French striker in that final.

Only seven minutes into the match, Argentine referee Horacio Elizondo awarded a penalty to France, which was masterfully taken by Zidane. Minutes later, Italy's Marco Materazzi would tie the match, which would eventually go to extra time. Zidane and Materazzi had heated encounters throughout the game, and it is speculated that Materazzi said something about Zizou's family. In a shocking moment, Zidane ran away from the Italian defender, only to turn around and headbutt him in the chest. Zidane was then sent off in the 110th minute and walked away from the pitch as he stared at the trophy.

Italy scored with their first four penalties and France missed their second (David Trezeguet) - the count was 4-3 after four penalties each. Italy scored with their 5th and won 5-3 on penalties (there was no need for France to take their 5th penalty shot). Without Zidane to push the team in the last ten minutes (and unable to take another penalty), France suffered a painful loss.

Answer: Ghana

Uruguay and Ghana faced off in a very exciting quarter-final match after struggling to make it from the last round. In South Africa 2010's round of 16, Uruguay beat South Korea with a last-minute goal, and Ghana surprised the United States with a late goal by Asamoah Gyan. Uruguay and Ghana went to extra time after tying 1-1 at full time. When a penalty shootout seemed inevitable, the "Black Stars" had a dangerous approach that almost made it into the net. They were awarded a free kick with 119:33 showing on the clock. In a heroic or villainous moment (depending on who you ask), striker Luis Suarez stopped the ball from crossing the line with his hands with his hands (the clock was showing 120:21), depriving Ghana of a clear goal-scoring opportunity.

Suarez was sent off. Unfortunately for Ghana, Asamoah Gyan missed the penalty (the clock was now showing 121:27), and the referee then blew his whistle for the end of the match; taking the match to a shootout. Uruguay went first. Gyan took the first penalty for Ghana (this time successfully) but, eventually, Uruguay won 4-2 on penalties, leaving Ghana and many other supporters heartbroken. Suarez's move was debated for years. Ghanaians despised him and his "dirty" style, while Uruguayans placed the blame squarely on Gyan for missing the penalty.

The two national teams faced off again in the group stage of the Qatar 2022 World Cup. Incredibly, Ghana missed yet another penalty in this match; this time, Andre Ayew was the culprit. Despite Uruguay winning that game, both teams did not progress out of the group stage; and were eliminated from the tournament.

Answer: Robben

The Mexican national team has a long history of performing unusually well in the group stage of World Cups, only to inevitably end up eliminated in the round of 16. They were eliminated at the R16 stage in each one of the previous six tournaments 1990-1994-1998-2002-2006-2010.

In 2014, Mexico went from barely making it to the World Cup to delivering a solid group stage performance. The Mexico v. Netherlands match in the round of 16 was 0-0 at half time. Soon after the second-half kick-off, Mexico scored and it all looked like the curse was finally about to end! Just minutes before the final whistle, Wesley Sneijder stunned the entire stadium with a powerful shot in the 88th minute from outside the box. The equalizer killed the morale of the Mexican team, which was minutes away from making history. In 2nd minute of time added-on, Dutch winger Arjen Robben fell in the box and the referee awarded a penalty kick. The incident, which resulted in a goal and a 2-1 score, meant the Netherlands advanced to the next round. It created a controversial debate for years. Many fans (especially Mexicans) insisted that Robben dived and there was no penalty, leading to the popularity of the phrase "No Era Penal" (it wasn't a penalty). Robben was blamed for Mexico's elimination and for years was hated by a good portion of Mexican football fans.

On the other hand, those who saw a contact and believed the referee's decision was correct blamed Rafael Marquez, the legendary Mexican defender who allegedly made a contact that was enough to be a foul. Some also suggest that there was a penalty in the first half that the Netherlands were not awarded anyway.

Answer: Willy Caballero

Despite making it to the final in 2014, Argentina did not look particularly strong in Russia 2018. They were unable to beat Iceland in their debut match (which ended in a 1-1 tie), and their starting goalkeeper, Sergio Romero, could not compete because of an injury. Wilfredo (Willy) Caballero, who has played mostly for Spanish and English clubs (including Manchester City and Chelsea), was selected to replace Romero.

Though the match against Iceland was not very noteworthy, Caballero's performance against Croatia left a lot to be desired. The goalkeeper made some early saves, but in the 53rd minute, a mistake by the Argentine defense culminated in Caballero poorly deflecting the ball, gifting Croatia their first goal. In the 80th minute, Luka Modric scored from outside the box. Granted, that wasn't entirely the goalkeeper's fault, but some say he could've done more to stop it. To round out a nightmarish match for Caballero, yet another mistaken deflection resulted in Croatia's third and final goal, in a humiliating defeat for Argentina.

Caballero's mistakes were largely blamed for the South American team's loss, and he would be replaced by another goalkeeper, Franco Armani, in subsequent World Cup matches. His last name, "caballero", means "gentleman" in Spanish.

Answer: United States

Group B was supposed to be one of the most challenging groups in the Qatar 2022 World Cup, featuring England, the United States, Iran, and Wales. In their first match, the USA gained the upper hand with a goal scored by Tim Weah. It didn't look probable that Wales would tie the game, until defender Walker Zimmerman made a foolish tackle inside the box in the last ten minutes. Gareth Bale scored from the penalty spot, which meant that the USA lost two of the three points they already had in the bag.

Walker Zimmerman, who played for FC Dallas and Los Angeles FC before joining Nashville SC in 2020, had also represented the USA in the U18, U20, and U23 categories before the 2022 World Cup. Zimmerman and other U.S. defenders were also criticized for their performance in the round of 16 match against Netherlands, which ended with the elimination of the Americans.

Answer: Romelu Lukaku

Belgium entered the tournament as one of the favorites to emerge victorious, but the Red Devils didn't even make it past the group stage. After struggling to defeat Canada by 1-0, Belgium shockingly lost by 0-2 against Morocco (which turned out to be one of the strongest squads of the Cup by finishing in fourth place). This meant that Belgium's last match against Croatia was of critical importance for both teams. Unfortunately, the Belgians missed a great number of chances and were unable to score. The match ended 0-0 and allowed Croatia to classify to the next round, while kicking out Belgium.

The last half hour of the game was a disaster for Belgium's strikers, particularly Romelu Lukaku. He missed at least three very clear opportunities, at least one of them in which the goalkeeper had no chance of stopping a shot. Lukaku's teammates looked shocked each time the striker missed, and there were rumors that the locker room was divided in this tournament. At the end of the match, Lukaku took out his frustration by punching and breaking a glass pane in the benches. Lukaku's quality as a striker is unquestionable, as he has scored over 50 international goals and was the 2020-21 UEFA Nations League top-scorer. This match was probably one of the worst of his career.

Answer: Harry Kane

France v. England was a match many fans were excited about as both national teams were in great shape. In fact, many saw this game as a final in itself. Neither squad disappointed, and both gave a good effort while entertaining the spectators. France's Tchouameni opened the scoreboard early and England struggled to come back. Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio, who made controversial calls for both teams, awarded a penalty at the beginning of the second half, which Harry Kane scored. Giroud scored a second goal for France nearly at the end of the match.

Minutes before the end of the match, England was given yet another penalty. Harry Kane, who is one of England's all-time top goal-scorers, decided to take the penalty again. This time, his shot went over the post and resulted in England's painful 1-2 loss. Kane, who played for Tottenham Hotspur since 2009 (though he has been loaned to several other clubs since then), looked devastated when the final whistle blew. His Tottenham teammate, French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, consoled him after the match.

Kane missing the penalty was a surprise, especially given his usual goal-scoring effectiveness (Kane was the 2018 World Cup's top goal-scorer). Some believe that, as a psychological matter, it was a mistake for Kane to shoot again instead of having someone else take it. We will never know!