The Case of the Golden Cup Mystery
Just hours before the kickoff of the biggest soccer match of the year, someone snuck into the locker room and hid the Golden Championship Cup! The referee coordinator is in a panic. The grand stadium is packed with fans, and we need your detective skills to find the sneaky soccer star who took the trophy before the whistle blows!
Possible suspects
Cross off a row as each clue rules it out. On screen, tap a row.
| Name | Signature Move | Lucky Gear | Kicking Foot | Hair Dye Color | Game Distraction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virgil van Dijk | header blast | wrist tape | left footed | pink hair | muddy pitch |
| Lucy Bronze | rainbow flick | neon cleats | right footed | pink hair | muddy pitch |
| Mohamed Salah | nutmeg pass | shiny shin guards | left footed | pink hair | squeaky ball |
| Erling Haaland | rainbow flick | wrist tape | left footed | pink hair | muddy pitch |
| Neymar Junior | header blast | shiny shin guards | left footed | pink hair | muddy pitch |
| Kylian Mbappe | rainbow flick | neon cleats | right footed | green hair | squeaky ball |
| Rose Lavelle | bicycle kick | striped socks | right footed | green hair | muddy pitch |
| Sam Kerr | rainbow flick | gold headband | left footed | green hair | muddy pitch |
| Luka Modric | header blast | wrist tape | left footed | pink hair | loud whistle |
| Guillermo Ochoa | header blast | neon cleats | left footed | pink hair | muddy pitch |
| Lionel Messi | header blast | striped socks | left footed | blue hair | muddy pitch |
| Alisson Becker | power volley | shiny shin guards | right footed | blue hair | squeaky ball |
| Marcus Rashford | nutmeg pass | gold headband | left footed | pink hair | muddy pitch |
| Alex Morgan | rainbow flick | striped socks | right footed | blue hair | loud whistle |
| Harry Kane | rainbow flick | wrist tape | left footed | blue hair | muddy pitch |
| Beth Mead | rainbow flick | gold headband | right footed | green hair | squeaky ball |
| Manuel Neuer | bicycle kick | gold headband | right footed | pink hair | loud whistle |
| Kevin De Bruyne | header blast | shiny shin guards | left footed | pink hair | squeaky ball |
| Aitana Putellas | nutmeg pass | striped socks | right footed | blue hair | loud whistle |
| Bukayo Saka | header blast | neon cleats | left footed | pink hair | loud whistle |
| Son Heungmin | rainbow flick | shiny shin guards | left footed | green hair | loud whistle |
Rounding
To start the search, we found a broken locker shelf. Our team drew a bar model comparing the missing gear bags to the total shelves. The solved bar model gives us our first clue!
Solve each problem to learn its letter. Then write that letter in every box that shows the same number, and read the secret clue.
Word problems
Next, the stadium guard tells us a word problem about how many soccer balls were kicked over the north fence during practice. Solving his word problem reveals a big secret.
Solve each problem to learn its letter, then write the letters in the boxes to fill in the missing word.
Bar models
We checked the giant stadium scoreboard, but the screen is flickering and only showing numbers rounded to the nearest ten. Rounding these scores correctly unlocks our third clue!
Solve each problem to learn its letter, then write the letters in the boxes to fill in the missing word.
Addition
Down by the corner flag, we found a pile of dropped practice cones. Adding all the red cones and blue cones together gives us a magic sum that points to a new clue.
Solve each problem to learn its letter. Then write that letter in every box that shows the same number, and read the secret clue.
Division facts (1-12) — the last clue
Finally, the team coach is sharing orange slices equally among the junior players. Dividing the slices evenly into equal groups gives us the final clue we need.
First solve each problem. Then find each answer in the list below and cross that sentence out. One sentence will be left — that's exactly what the villain did!
Name the culprit
Choose the one suspect left standing.
Answer Key — The Case of the Golden Cup Mystery
- Clue 1 (Rounding): "THE SUSPECT DOES NOT WEAR A GOLD HEADBAND"Round 8,436 to the nearest thousand = 8000 (T) · Round 40 to the nearest ten = 40 (U) · Round 53 to the nearest ten = 50 (B) · Round 31 to the nearest ten = 30 (L) · Round 440 to the nearest hundred = 400 (C) · Round 292 to the nearest hundred = 300 (H) · Round 471 to the nearest hundred = 500 (P) · Round 890 to the nearest hundred = 900 (E) · Round 203 to the nearest hundred = 200 (D) · Round 5,669 to the nearest thousand = 6000 (W) · Round 2,183 to the nearest thousand = 2000 (R) · Round 2,793 to the nearest thousand = 3000 (A) · Round 67 to the nearest ten = 70 (S) · Round 87 to the nearest ten = 90 (O) · Round 8,614 to the nearest thousand = 9000 (N) · Round 23 to the nearest ten = 20 (G)
- Clue 2 (Word problems): "LEFT FOOTED"A detective found 6 clues on Monday and 59 more on Tuesday. How many clues in all? = 65 (L) · There are 5 boxes with 10 clues in each box. How many clues in all? = 50 (F) · A detective found 33 clues on Monday and 6 more on Tuesday. How many clues in all? = 39 (E) · There were 82 tickets. 24 were used. How many are left? = 58 (D) · There were 73 tickets. 39 were used. How many are left? = 34 (T) · There are 7 boxes with 10 clues in each box. How many clues in all? = 70 (O)
- Clue 3 (Bar models): "MUDDY PITCH"One part is 1 and the other part is 6. What is the whole? = 7 (M) · The whole is 37. One part is 17. What is the other part? = 20 (I) · The whole is 27. One part is 5. What is the other part? = 22 (D) · The whole is 30. One part is 7. What is the other part? = 23 (Y) · One bar shows 36 and the other shows 20. How much longer is the first bar? = 16 (U) · The whole is 8. One part is 4. What is the other part? = 4 (T) · One bar shows 39 and the other shows 12. How much longer is the first bar? = 27 (P)
- Clue 4 (Addition): "WE FOUND PINK HAIR CLIPPINGS BY THE GOAL"152 + 330 = 482 (W) · 618 + 335 = 953 (R) · 86 + 195 = 281 (U) · 344 + 611 = 955 (K) · 196 + 263 = 459 (T) · 274 + 321 = 595 (H) · 387 + 387 = 774 (D) · 259 + 520 = 779 (S) · 108 + 188 = 296 (F) · 172 + 305 = 477 (E) · 98 + 180 = 278 (Y) · 238 + 201 = 439 (I) · 226 + 106 = 332 (C) · 560 + 270 = 830 (A) · 191 + 174 = 365 (O) · 341 + 493 = 834 (P) · 349 + 477 = 826 (N) · 217 + 127 = 344 (B) · 205 + 166 = 371 (G) · 272 + 631 = 903 (L)
- Clue 5 (Division facts (1-12)): surviving statement (box 6) → Guillermo Ochoa12 ÷ 4 = 3 · 77 ÷ 7 = 11 · 55 ÷ 11 = 5 · 48 ÷ 12 = 4 · 48 ÷ 4 = 12 · 8 ÷ 1 = 8 · 20 ÷ 2 = 10 · 8 ÷ 8 = 1 · 6 ÷ 3 = 2 · 36 ÷ 4 = 9 · 56 ÷ 8 = 7
About this mystery
- Grade level
- Grade 3 math
- Math topics
- Rounding, Word problems, Bar models, Addition, Division
- Reading level
- grades 3-4
- Theme
- The Case of the Golden Cup Mystery — set in The Grand Championship Stadium
- Format
- Interactive online & printable worksheet with answer key
- Solution
- One unique, verified culprit among 21 suspects