Sunderland Quiz
Free Sunderland quiz with explained answers — from six league titles and the 1973 FA Cup upset to Roker Park, the Stadium of Light and Kevin Phillips.
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easy
The first season of 'Sunderland 'Til I Die' documented relegation to which division?
WhyThe 2017–18 campaign dropped the club into the third tier. -
easy
In which year did Sunderland win their most recent English league title?
WhyTheir sixth championship came in the mid-1930s under Johnny Cochrane. -
medium
Who scored the only goal as Sunderland won the 2021 EFL Trophy final?
WhyThe USA-born forward struck the winner at Wembley. -
medium
In what year was Sunderland AFC founded?
WhyThe club began as a schoolteachers' association side in the late 1870s. -
hard
Kevin Phillips joined Sunderland in 1997 from which club?
WhyHe arrived from the Hertfordshire club for a modest fee before becoming a prolific scorer. -
medium
Who managed Sunderland in the 2014 League Cup Final?
WhyThe Uruguayan also engineered that season's 'Great Escape' from relegation. -
medium
Which early-20th-century Sunderland and England forward later became a famous football journalist with his own monthly magazine?
WhyHis name lived on in a hugely popular post-war football publication. -
hard
Who is recognised as Sunderland's all-time leading goalscorer?
WhyThis 1930s forward scored well over 200 goals and netted in the 1937 Cup Final. -
medium
Sunderland's great side of which decade was dubbed the 'Team of All the Talents'?
WhyThe nickname belonged to the dominant championship-winning team of Victorian times. -
medium
Sunderland won the 2021 EFL Trophy, beating which club in the final?
WhyThe Wembley final was settled 1-0 against this Merseyside opponent. -
hard
Sunderland's record top-flight away win, 9–1 in December 1908, came at which club's ground?
WhyThe thrashing was inflicted on their nearest rivals on their own turf. -
medium
Sunderland set a divisional points record in 1998–99 with how many points?
WhyTheir First Division tally that season was a record for the division at the time. -
medium
Popular goalkeeper Thomas Sørensen represented which country?
WhyThe keeper of the Reid era was a full international for his Scandinavian homeland. -
hard
Which forward set Sunderland's single-season league scoring record of 43 goals in 1928–29?
WhyHis prolific late-1920s haul remains the club's best in one league campaign. -
medium
David Moyes's 2016–17 season at Sunderland ended in what?
WhyHis single full season saw the club drop out of the top flight. -
medium
Which Ghanaian striker became Sunderland's club-record signing in 2010?
WhyThe Black Stars forward arrived after a strong 2010 World Cup. -
hard
In their 1973–74 European Cup Winners' Cup run, Sunderland were eliminated by which Portuguese club?
WhyThe Lisbon side ended the FA Cup holders' only major European campaign. -
medium
Club great Charlie Hurley played international football for which nation?
WhyThough based in England, the Cork-born defender represented the country of his birth. -
medium
Which coach was appointed Sunderland head coach in 2024?
WhyThe former Lorient boss took charge for the club's promotion push. -
hard
Sunderland won the league in 1913 but lost the FA Cup Final that year to which club, narrowly missing the Double?
WhyA single goal from the Midlands side denied them the double in 1913. -
medium
Which long-serving Sunderland midfielder and captain of the 1990s was nicknamed 'Bally'?
WhyThe combative skipper later served the club as a coach and caretaker manager. -
medium
Whom did Sunderland defeat to lift their first FA Cup in 1937?
WhySunderland came from behind to win the Wembley final 3-1 against this Lancashire side. -
hard
When Sunderland won the 1973 FA Cup, which division were they playing in?
WhyTheir triumph is celebrated as one of the great cup upsets by a non-top-flight side. -
medium
Who captained Sunderland's 1937 FA Cup-winning side and was a celebrated creative inside-forward?
WhyThe homegrown playmaker also skippered the 1936 title team. -
medium
The Stadium of Light was built on the former site of which industry?
WhyA miners' lamp monument outside honours the Wearmouth pit that once stood there. -
hard
Sunderland's record home attendance of 75,118 at Roker Park in 1933 came against which club?
WhyThe huge crowd packed in for an FA Cup tie against the East Midlands visitors. -
medium
Which Sunderland striker won the European Golden Shoe in 1999–2000?
WhyHe top-scored across Europe with 30 Premier League goals that season. -
medium
Sunderland won the 2022 League One play-off final against which side?
WhyA 2-0 Wembley win over the Buckinghamshire club sealed a return to the Championship. -
medium
Which flamboyant post-war Sunderland forward was nicknamed the 'Clown Prince of Soccer'?
WhyHis entertaining style earned him the theatrical moniker in the late 1940s and 50s. -
easy
Sunderland reached the 2014 League Cup Final, losing to which club?
WhyThey led early at Wembley before the eventual Premier League champions hit back to win 3-1. -
easy
In 2009, a Darren Bent goal against Liverpool was deflected past the keeper by what object?
WhyAn item thrown from the stands wrong-footed Pepe Reina for one of football's oddest goals. -
easy
Roy Keane led Sunderland to which title in 2006–07?
WhyIn his first managerial season he won promotion back to the top flight. -
easy
Sam Allardyce left Sunderland in 2016 to take which job?
WhyAfter keeping the club up, he departed for the national team role. -
easy
Which Republic of Ireland striker later served as Sunderland's chairman?
WhyThe tall forward moved from the pitch to the boardroom after his playing days. -
easy
Sunderland's fierce Tyne–Wear derby is contested against which club?
WhyThe rivals sit just up the coast on the Tyne. -
easy
Academy graduate Jordan Pickford was sold in 2017 to which club?
WhyThe England goalkeeper joined the Merseyside club for a large fee. -
easy
What is Sunderland's traditional home kit design?
WhyThe club has worn vertical stripes in these two colours for well over a century. -
easy
Who managed Sunderland to the 1998–99 First Division title?
WhyThe same manager guided the Phillips–Quinn era into the Premier League. -
easy
Which side did Sunderland famously beat in the 1973 FA Cup Final?
WhyThe Wearsiders shocked the reigning holders and league heavyweights of the day.
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Sunderland in the record books
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About Sunderland
Sunderland, founded in 1879 and famous for their red-and-white stripes, are one of English football's grand old names with one of the game's most devoted followings. This free Sunderland quiz covers the whole story — the six league titles, the great cup days, the move from Roker Park to the Stadium of Light, and the modern rollercoaster made famous on Netflix.
The history runs deep. Sunderland have won the English league six times, the last in 1936, and lifted the FA Cup in 1937 (beating Preston North End) and again in 1973 — when, as a Second Division side, they stunned Leeds United in one of the competition's greatest upsets. Kevin Phillips won the European Golden Shoe in 1999-2000, and Peter Reid's side racked up a then-record 105 points to win the 1998-99 First Division. In 1997 the club left Roker Park for the Stadium of Light, built on the site of the former Wearmouth colliery.
Expect questions on the title-winning sides, the 1937 and 1973 cup runs, Roker Park and the Stadium of Light, Kevin Phillips, and the fierce Tyne–Wear derby with Newcastle United. Difficulty climbs from easy openers to genuinely hard deep cuts about record scorers and specific seasons.
Sunderland quiz answers, explained
Every question from the quiz above. Play it first; each answer stays folded until you open it.
The first season of 'Sunderland 'Til I Die' documented relegation to which division?
Show answer
League One. The 2017–18 campaign dropped the club into the third tier.
In which year did Sunderland win their most recent English league title?
Show answer
1936. Their sixth championship came in the mid-1930s under Johnny Cochrane.
Who scored the only goal as Sunderland won the 2021 EFL Trophy final?
Show answer
Lynden Gooch. The USA-born forward struck the winner at Wembley.
In what year was Sunderland AFC founded?
Show answer
1879. The club began as a schoolteachers' association side in the late 1870s.
Kevin Phillips joined Sunderland in 1997 from which club?
Show answer
Watford. He arrived from the Hertfordshire club for a modest fee before becoming a prolific scorer.
Who managed Sunderland in the 2014 League Cup Final?
Show answer
Gus Poyet. The Uruguayan also engineered that season's 'Great Escape' from relegation.
Which early-20th-century Sunderland and England forward later became a famous football journalist with his own monthly magazine?
Show answer
Charlie Buchan. His name lived on in a hugely popular post-war football publication.
Who is recognised as Sunderland's all-time leading goalscorer?
Show answer
Bobby Gurney. This 1930s forward scored well over 200 goals and netted in the 1937 Cup Final.
Sunderland's great side of which decade was dubbed the 'Team of All the Talents'?
Show answer
The 1890s. The nickname belonged to the dominant championship-winning team of Victorian times.
Sunderland won the 2021 EFL Trophy, beating which club in the final?
Show answer
Tranmere Rovers. The Wembley final was settled 1-0 against this Merseyside opponent.
Sunderland's record top-flight away win, 9–1 in December 1908, came at which club's ground?
Show answer
Newcastle United. The thrashing was inflicted on their nearest rivals on their own turf.
Sunderland set a divisional points record in 1998–99 with how many points?
Show answer
105. Their First Division tally that season was a record for the division at the time.
Popular goalkeeper Thomas Sørensen represented which country?
Show answer
Denmark. The keeper of the Reid era was a full international for his Scandinavian homeland.
Which forward set Sunderland's single-season league scoring record of 43 goals in 1928–29?
Show answer
Dave Halliday. His prolific late-1920s haul remains the club's best in one league campaign.
David Moyes's 2016–17 season at Sunderland ended in what?
Show answer
Relegation from the Premier League. His single full season saw the club drop out of the top flight.
Which Ghanaian striker became Sunderland's club-record signing in 2010?
Show answer
Asamoah Gyan. The Black Stars forward arrived after a strong 2010 World Cup.
In their 1973–74 European Cup Winners' Cup run, Sunderland were eliminated by which Portuguese club?
Show answer
Sporting CP. The Lisbon side ended the FA Cup holders' only major European campaign.
Club great Charlie Hurley played international football for which nation?
Show answer
Republic of Ireland. Though based in England, the Cork-born defender represented the country of his birth.
Which coach was appointed Sunderland head coach in 2024?
Show answer
Régis Le Bris. The former Lorient boss took charge for the club's promotion push.
Sunderland won the league in 1913 but lost the FA Cup Final that year to which club, narrowly missing the Double?
Show answer
Aston Villa. A single goal from the Midlands side denied them the double in 1913.
Which long-serving Sunderland midfielder and captain of the 1990s was nicknamed 'Bally'?
Show answer
Kevin Ball. The combative skipper later served the club as a coach and caretaker manager.
Whom did Sunderland defeat to lift their first FA Cup in 1937?
Show answer
Preston North End. Sunderland came from behind to win the Wembley final 3-1 against this Lancashire side.
When Sunderland won the 1973 FA Cup, which division were they playing in?
Show answer
Second Division. Their triumph is celebrated as one of the great cup upsets by a non-top-flight side.
Who captained Sunderland's 1937 FA Cup-winning side and was a celebrated creative inside-forward?
Show answer
Raich Carter. The homegrown playmaker also skippered the 1936 title team.
The Stadium of Light was built on the former site of which industry?
Show answer
A coal mine. A miners' lamp monument outside honours the Wearmouth pit that once stood there.
Sunderland's record home attendance of 75,118 at Roker Park in 1933 came against which club?
Show answer
Derby County. The huge crowd packed in for an FA Cup tie against the East Midlands visitors.
Which Sunderland striker won the European Golden Shoe in 1999–2000?
Show answer
Kevin Phillips. He top-scored across Europe with 30 Premier League goals that season.
Sunderland won the 2022 League One play-off final against which side?
Show answer
Wycombe Wanderers. A 2-0 Wembley win over the Buckinghamshire club sealed a return to the Championship.
Which flamboyant post-war Sunderland forward was nicknamed the 'Clown Prince of Soccer'?
Show answer
Len Shackleton. His entertaining style earned him the theatrical moniker in the late 1940s and 50s.
Sunderland reached the 2014 League Cup Final, losing to which club?
Show answer
Manchester City. They led early at Wembley before the eventual Premier League champions hit back to win 3-1.
In 2009, a Darren Bent goal against Liverpool was deflected past the keeper by what object?
Show answer
A beach ball. An item thrown from the stands wrong-footed Pepe Reina for one of football's oddest goals.
Roy Keane led Sunderland to which title in 2006–07?
Show answer
The Championship. In his first managerial season he won promotion back to the top flight.
Sam Allardyce left Sunderland in 2016 to take which job?
Show answer
England. After keeping the club up, he departed for the national team role.
Which Republic of Ireland striker later served as Sunderland's chairman?
Show answer
Niall Quinn. The tall forward moved from the pitch to the boardroom after his playing days.
Sunderland's fierce Tyne–Wear derby is contested against which club?
Show answer
Newcastle United. The rivals sit just up the coast on the Tyne.
Academy graduate Jordan Pickford was sold in 2017 to which club?
Show answer
Everton. The England goalkeeper joined the Merseyside club for a large fee.
What is Sunderland's traditional home kit design?
Show answer
Red and white stripes. The club has worn vertical stripes in these two colours for well over a century.
Who managed Sunderland to the 1998–99 First Division title?
Show answer
Peter Reid. The same manager guided the Phillips–Quinn era into the Premier League.
Which side did Sunderland famously beat in the 1973 FA Cup Final?
Show answer
Leeds United. The Wearsiders shocked the reigning holders and league heavyweights of the day.
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