Pre-Match Poser time, everyone.
Which club follows next in the pattern? Everton, Arsenal, Arsenal, Leeds United…
We’ll reveal the answer this time next week in the next edition of The Pre-Match Poser – stay tuned for that – but for now, here’s the answer to last week’s conundrum…
Q. Kevin Keegan, Bobby Robson and Sven-Goran Eriksson have done it; Gareth Southgate, Steve McLaren and Sam Allardyce have not. Thomas Tuchel hasn’t done it (but has benefitted from it). Fabio Capello did it twice. What is it?
A. We’re actually not talking about their stints as England manager: we’re talking about all-time transfers. Keegan was manager of Newcastle United when the Toon smashed the world transfer record for Alan Shearer, Robson was Barcelona boss when Ronaldo broke that record a year later, and Sven was leading Lazio when Hernan Crespo became the most expensive player ever three years after that. Southgate, McLaren and Allardyce didn’t come close to breaking transfer records – but Tuchel did manage Neymar (the current holder) at Paris Saint-Germain. Capello was manager at Milan when both Jean-Pierre Papin and Gianluigi Lentini broke the record.
It was a tough one last week, right? Don’t worry, though: we’ve got plenty of quizzes to keep you sharp over the next seven days as you mull over your Keegans and Capellos, this time powered by Kwizly,
We’re launching straight into opposite ends of the international spectrum: the pinnacle of individual perfection and the long, gruelling road of continental qualifying. First, we want you to trace footballing royalty by naming every Ballon d’Or winner to have won the World Cup, honouring the rare pantheon of players who conquered both individual and collective summits. Once you’ve audited the golden elite, flip the script to test your macro-level knowledge by naming every FIFA nation to never appear at the World Cup, a rigorous exam of global footballing geography that separates genuine scholars from casual tournament fans.
If your expertise leans toward visual recognition and group-stage drama, we have a formidable double-header waiting in the tunnel. Put your spatial memory to work by trying to name every World Cup nation’s flag, before diving into the history books to name every nation to have reached a World Cup… and failed to make it out the group stage.
Fancy another one? Course you do. FourFourTwo’s Weekend Crossword 63 this week features playmakers, places and Euro ’28, as we hone in on hosts and future tournament folklore. To ensure you stay sharp for every matchday, make sure to subscribe to our newsletter for your daily afternoon briefing of hand-picked trivia. To complete your transfer to the elite tier, join The Club, our free membership hub that serves as your digital dugout, where you can unlock secret hints for the toughest questions, climb global leaderboards, and join the debate directly in the comments.