Connections: Soccer Edition hints & answers: Sunday, September 13, 2026

Updated: Sunday, September 13, 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 Sunday, September 13, 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 13, 2026)

1One answer from each group

Yellow (easiest): one of its answers is “GAMES PLAYED”.
Green (easy): one of its answers is “ROOKIE”.
Blue (tricky): one of its answers is “KANCHELSKIS”.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay): one of its answers is “SHAKHTAR”.

2Category hints (no answers)

Yellow (easiest): the theme is “Displayed on a league table”.
Green (easy): the theme is “A young player hoping to break through”.
Blue (tricky): the theme is “Played for manchester united and manchester city”.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay): the theme is “First word in name of ukrainian clubs”.

3One full group revealed

Yellow (easiest) — the connection is “Displayed on a league table”, and its four answers are: GAMES PLAYED, WINS, GOALS SCORED, POINTS.

Soccer Connections answers — September 13, 2026

★Today's full Soccer Connections answers, explained

Yellow (easiest) — the connection is “Displayed on a league table”. The answers: GAMES PLAYED, WINS, GOALS SCORED, POINTS.
Green (easy) — the connection is “A young player hoping to break through”. The answers: ROOKIE, ACADEMY PLAYER, APPRENTICE, TRIALIST.
Blue (tricky) — the connection is “Played for manchester united and manchester city”. The answers: KANCHELSKIS, TEVEZ, KIDD, HARGREAVES.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay) — the connection is “First word in name of ukrainian clubs”. The answers: SHAKHTAR, DYNAMO, ZORYA, POLISSYA.

The puzzle, explained

The purple group is all about Ukrainian football clubs—Shakhtar Donetsk, Dynamo Kyiv, Zorya Luhansk, and Polissya Zhytomyr are the full team names. The real trick here is that DYNAMO and ZORYA are super common words that could easily trick you into thinking they belong elsewhere, and POLISSYA sounds like it could be a player's name. KANCHELSKIS was probably your biggest bait since he's a Ukrainian-born player who played for Man United, so it's tempting to lump him in with TEVEZ, KIDD, and HARGREAVES in the blue group. If you went for APPRENTICE over ACADEMY PLAYER in green, that's the kind of synonym trap Connections loves to set, since both describe young hopefuls trying to make it.

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

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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 →