Oops! - Own Goals at Wembley Stadium Multiple Choice Quiz | Sports

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. At full time in the 1991 FA Cup Final at Wembley, Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur finished 1-1. At the start of extra time one of Forest's longest-serving players (321 appearances) headed a corner into his own net for what proved to be the decisive goal of the match, won 2-1 by Spurs. Who was this player?

Answer: Des Walker

Des Walker was for many years one of the best defenders in the Football League, but he made a dreadful error in clearing a routine cross in the 4th minute of extra time when, under no real pressure, he headed the ball from about six yards out into the top corner of the goal. Walker played 321 times for Forest and a further 307 times for Sheffield Wednesday. In that time he only ever scored one goal for his team, when on New Year's Day 1992 he scored the equaliser for Forest in a 1-1 draw against Luton Town.

This win was the eighth FA Cup win for Spurs - as usual for a year ending in "1" - but the match was marred by the behaviour of Paul Gascoigne in his last match for Spurs before going to play for Lazio in Italy. He committed two violent fouls in the first few minutes; the second resulted in a free kick from which Stuart Pearce scored and also in an injury to Gascoigne that stopped him playing for a year.

The incorrect answer options are all defenders who played for Forest in that Cup Final.

2. In 1946 Derby County played Charlton Athletic at Wembley Stadium in the first post-war FA Cup Final. The game had been scoreless for 85 minutes when one player scored two goals in a minute - one for Derby and one for Charlton, becoming the first player to score for both sides in an FA Cup Final. Can you name this player?

Answer: Ben Turner

In a war-interrupted career, Welsh international half-back Ben Turner played for Charlton Athletic for 14 years. In the 85th minute of the 1946 Cup Final a cross from the right wing was punched out by Charlton goalkeeper Sam Bartram, but it went straight to Derby's left-winger, Dally Duncan. His shot was goal-bound; Turner tried to kick the ball clear, but only managed to deflect the ball into his own net. In an immediate response, Charlton attacked and were awarded a free kick at the edge of Derby's penalty area. Turner took the free kick and blasted it through the wall of Derby players into the net. Turner thus became the first player to score for both sides in an FA Cup Final as well as becoming, at the age of 37, the oldest player to score in an FA Cup Final.

The match went to extra time, and despite the ball bursting Derby scored three more goals to win 4-1. Charlton's centre-forward Arthur Turner also made a little bit of history, being the only player to have played in the FA Cup Final for his club without ever making a League appearance for it.

The incorrect answer options are all defenders who played for Charlton in that match.

3. The 1984 Charity Shield was played at Wembley between the League Champions, Liverpool, and the FA Cup winners, Everton. The match was decided by a solitary goal, an own goal by a Liverpool player famous for his eccentricity, such as having "wobbly knees" and pretending to eat the goal netting like spaghetti. Who was this player?

Answer: Bruce Grobbelaar

Bruce Grobbelaar was just one of many famed Liverpool goalkeepers. His exploits at the 1984 European Cup final between Liverpool and AS Roma became legend - biting the back of the net in imitation of eating spaghetti and wobbling his legs in mock terror resulted in the Italians missing two penalties as Liverpool won the penalty shootout 4-2. Perhaps predictably, his own goal for Everton was a bit bizarre. Everton forward Phil Sharp was put through by an excellent pass, rounded Grobbelaar and shot. However, Alan Hansen blocked the shot on the line and the ball rebounded away from the goal, only for it to hit Grobbelaar's shins and bounce back into the net -- 1-0 to Everton.

All the incorrect answer options are famous Liverpool goalkeepers - I had a soft spot for Tommy Lawrence, or "The Flying Pig" as he was perhaps unkindly known.

4. In 1981 in the 100th FA Cup Final -- Tottenham Hotspur vs. Manchester City -- a City player became one of the few players to score both for and against their team in a match at Wembley. The match ended in a 1-1 draw after extra time. Can you name the much-travelled Scottish City midfield player, the oldest on the pitch, who scored both goals in this match?

Answer: Tommy Hutchison

Tommy Hutchison had an extraordinary career, making over 1,000 appearances for various clubs during his near 25 years as a player. He opened the scoring in the 30th minute with a superb diving header that put City 1-0 up. However, in the 70th minute Glen Hoddle of Spurs took a free kick on the right-hand corner of the penalty area, that was clearly going wide until it hit Hutchison and took a massive deflection into the top left-hand corner of the net. With no further score the match was replayed five days later. This match, a 3-2 win for Spurs, featured the Vicky Riva dribble and shot that, in 2001, was voted the Wembley Goal of the Century.

The incorrect answer options all played for Forest in that Cup Final.

5. In a 2020 FA Cup Semi-Final match played at Wembley, Chelsea beat Manchester United 3-1. Chelsea's third goal was an own goal scored by a Manchester United defender; the club captain. He'd been signed from Leicester City the previous year for a world record fee for a defender. Who was this player?

Answer: Harry Maguire

This match was played at an empty Wembley Stadium because of COVID restrictions. Chelsea were by far the better team on the day, and their third goal happened when Maguire, under pressure from Rudiger, stabbed an Alonso cross into his own net.

The incorrect answer options are all defenders who played for Manchester United that season.

6. In May 1991 England played the USSR in a friendly at Wembley. The Soviets scored first when a shot was deflected by an England defender. This player had played for some years for Southampton and Derby County but was about to start a longer stretch with Liverpool - who was he?

Answer: Mark Wright

The Soviets took the lead in the tenth minute when a shot by Tartarchuk was massively deflected by Mark Wright, totally wrongfooting England goalkeeper Woods. This was the 25th own goal conceded by the England national team.

The incorrect answer options are all defenders who played for England in that match.

7. In May 2015 Southend United faced Wycombe Wanderers in the League 2 Play-Off Final. In extra time a Wycombe free kick hit the Southend crossbar before rebounding off of the diving goalkeeper's back into the goal. However, the keeper redeemed himself in the penalty shoot out at the end of the match, and went on to sign for Brentford. He was later transferred to Bristol City, where he was club captain, and then to Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2023. Who was this player?

Answer: Dan Bentley

Southend goalkeeper (and Essex boy) Dan Bentley was left helpless by Joe Jacobson's free kick from the edge of the Southend penalty area. The kick went over the Southend wall, hit the crossbar and bounced out. However, it then hit Bentley's back and rebounded into the net. In a massive irony, Bentley had conceded an own goal in the League 2 match against Wycombe earlier that season in an exactly identical chain of events. Wonderfully, in the Play-Off Final Southend equalised with just 30 seconds of injury time at the end of extra time left. Despite going behind in the resulting penalty shoot-out, saves by Bentley ensured a win and promotion to League 1 for Southend.

Bentley went on to better things, even keeping a clean sheet for Wolves at Old Trafford against Manchester United in 2025. I can't help feeling, though, that he didn't get quite as far as he could have - he was an excellent keeper. And how do I know all this? - well, as a supporter of Southend since 1967, I was at the Play-Off match - it was the most tense I've ever seen.

The incorrect answer options are all defenders who played for Southend that season.

8. In the 1987 FA Cup Final, Tottenham Hotspur were the clear favourites against Coventry City. Despite that the match went to extra time, and a Spurs midfielder cancelled out the goal he'd scored in the first half by conceding an own goal, and Coventry won the final 3-2 aet. Who was the midfielder?

Answer: Gary Mabbutt

Gary Mabbutt scored for Spurs just before half-time, giving them a 2-1 lead, but after Keith Houchen's dramatic equaliser the match went to extra time. After just six minutes of this, McGrath ran into the Spurs penalty area and crossed the ball which Mabbutt deflected upwards off his left knee and over Clemence to score an own goal. This proved to be the winning goal. Mabbutt was a good player, bustling and confident. Despite having Type 1 Diabetes he played for Spurs for 16 years, 11 of these as club captain. Since his retirement he's done a huge amount of work for various charities and has been awarded at least three honorary degrees as well as an MBE.

The incorrect answer options are all defenders who played for Spurs in that match.

9. England played Hungary at Wembley in an international friendly in August 2010. In a drab game England fell behind when a cross by Vladimir Koman was deflected goalwards by an England centre back. This player had made over 250 appearances for Sheffield Wednesday and went on to make over 350 for Everton as well as winning 40 England caps. Who was he?

Answer: Phil Jagielka

Phil Jagielka was credited with an own goal after diverting the cross goalwards. However, subsequent TV footage showed that the ball hadn't crossed the line before it was cleared by Michael Dawson. Hungary's 1-0 lead was soon overcome as a brace of goals from Steven Gerard earned England a 2-1 win.

The incorrect answer options are all defenders who played for England in that match.

10. In March 1988 England played the Netherlands in a friendly match at Wembley. After taking the lead through a Gary Lineker goal, England let this lead slip through an own goal by their young centre back. Fortunately, this player later came to England's rescue after they had fallen 2-1 behind. He spent his entire playing career - almost 20 years and over 500 appearances - at a London club. Who was he?

Answer: Tony Adams

Tony Adams played 66 times for England, but this match started badly for him when, under pressure from Ruud Gullit, he tapped a Jan Wouters cross into his own net. John Bosman then gave the Netherlands the lead, but Adams responded by scoring with a thumping close-range header from a corner. Adams was a great player though often ridiculed for his frequent claiming for offside during matches - I remember seeing a cartoon of all the Arsenal shirts hanging up in the dressing room and Adams' having its right sleeve raised!

The incorrect answer options are all defenders who played for England in that match.

Source: Author Southendboy

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Oops! - Own Goals at Wembley Stadium Quiz

Perhaps the ultimate embarrassment for a football player is to score an own goal. This Quiz looks at players who have confounded their humiliation and discomfort by scoring own goals at Wembley Stadium in London, one of the greatest stadia in the world.

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