Connections: Soccer Edition hints & answers: Saturday, September 12, 2026

Updated: Saturday, September 12, 2026 · Hints reviewed by Omer Liban · New puzzle daily — free from The Athletic. · Puzzle editor: Will Jeanes.

This page has every level of help for the Connections: Soccer Edition puzzle of Saturday, September 12, 2026: 3 spoiler-free hint tiers that narrow things down step by step, followed by the complete answers with explanations — each behind its own tap-to-reveal card.

Stuck on today's Soccer Edition? Work the tiers below exactly like regular Connections — one answer per group, then the themes, then the full explained solution — revealing only what you choose. (Yes, it's the football one — 'soccer' is just the branding.)

Connections: Soccer Edition is The Athletic's football version of Connections — four colour-coded groups from easiest 🟡 yellow to trickiest 🟣 purple, all about the beautiful game: players, clubs, competitions, moments. Free to play.

Soccer Connections hints (September 12, 2026)

1One answer from each group

Yellow (easiest): one of its answers is “ELIMINATED”.
Green (easy): one of its answers is “DRUBBING”.
Blue (tricky): one of its answers is “VAVÁ”.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay): one of its answers is “ASTANA”.

2Category hints (no answers)

Yellow (easiest): the theme is “Exiting a competition”.
Green (easy): the theme is “Describes a big win”.
Blue (tricky): the theme is “Scored in two world cup finals”.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay): the theme is “Kazakhstani clubs”.

3One full group revealed

Yellow (easiest) — the connection is “Exiting a competition”, and its four answers are: ELIMINATED, KNOCKED OUT, RELEGATED, SENT HOME.

Soccer Connections answers — September 12, 2026

★Today's full Soccer Connections answers, explained

Yellow (easiest) — the connection is “Exiting a competition”. The answers: ELIMINATED, KNOCKED OUT, RELEGATED, SENT HOME.
Green (easy) — the connection is “Describes a big win”. The answers: DRUBBING, THRASHING, HAMMERING, DEMOLITION.
Blue (tricky) — the connection is “Scored in two world cup finals”. The answers: VAVÁ, BREITNER, MBAPPÉ, PELÉ.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay) — the connection is “Kazakhstani clubs”. The answers: ASTANA, KAIRAT, KAISAR, ELIMAI.

The puzzle, explained

The purple group is all Kazakhstani football clubs, which is a pretty deep cut unless you follow Central Asian soccer! ASTANA and KAIRAT are the big ones you might've heard of, but KAISAR and ELIMAI are also legit clubs from that league. The tricky part is that these words don't have an obvious connection at first glance—they just sound like random words until you know they're all team names. ELIMINATED from the yellow group was probably the biggest bait here since it shares letters with ELIMAI and sounds like it could fit a sports theme, and HAMMERING from green might've seemed like it could relate to a dominant team's style of play.

Next in today's routine: Today's Puzzle Answers → · every game's answers on one page. New puzzle daily — free from The Athletic. Bookmark this page for tomorrow's hints. Or play Soccer Connections on the official site.

More of today's puzzles

LinkedIn puzzles

Soccer Connections — common questions

What is Connections: Soccer Edition?

The Athletic's football version of Connections, launched in June 2026: sixteen answers, four hidden groups, all of it football — players, clubs, competitions, kits, iconic moments. Free to play, and separate from the sports edition.

Is Soccer Connections about football?

Yes — 'soccer' is the branding of The Athletic's US newsroom, but the puzzles are thoroughly football: Champions League history, World Cup winners, grounds and managers all feature.

What do the colours mean in Soccer Connections?

Same as every Connections: yellow is the easiest group, then green, then blue, and purple the trickiest — typically wordplay or a link designed to catch fans out.

Previous Soccer Connections puzzles

Full Soccer Connections archive (109 puzzles) → · How to play Connections: Soccer Edition →