Connections: Soccer Edition hints & answers: Monday, September 14, 2026

Updated: Monday, September 14, 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 Monday, September 14, 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 14, 2026)

1One answer from each group

Yellow (easiest): one of its answers is “ACL TEAR”.
Green (easy): one of its answers is “NOTTINGHAM FOREST”.
Blue (tricky): one of its answers is “ELLAND”.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay): one of its answers is “CARLISLE UNITED”.

2Category hints (no answers)

Yellow (easiest): the theme is “Types of injury”.
Green (easy): the theme is “English clubs to win european cup/champions league”.
Blue (tricky): the theme is “_____ road”.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay): the theme is “Begins with a type of transport”.

3One full group revealed

Yellow (easiest) — the connection is “Types of injury”, and its four answers are: ACL TEAR, GROIN STRAIN, CONCUSSION, ANKLE SPRAIN.

Soccer Connections answers — September 14, 2026

★Today's full Soccer Connections answers, explained

Yellow (easiest) — the connection is “Types of injury”. The answers: ACL TEAR, GROIN STRAIN, CONCUSSION, ANKLE SPRAIN.
Green (easy) — the connection is “English clubs to win european cup/champions league”. The answers: NOTTINGHAM FOREST, MANCHESTER UNITED, CHELSEA, LIVERPOOL.
Blue (tricky) — the connection is “_____ road”. The answers: ELLAND, PORTMAN, BRISBANE, VICARAGE.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay) — the connection is “Begins with a type of transport”. The answers: CARLISLE UNITED, TRAINING, CABALLERO, BUSQUETS.

The puzzle, explained

The purple group is all about words that start with a type of transport: **CAR**lisle United, **TRAIN**ing, **CAB**allero, and **BUS**quets. It's a pure wordplay category where each answer literally begins with how you get around—car, train, cab, and bus—which is why it's so sneaky. The biggest trap here is that Carlisle United and Chelsea are both English football clubs, so you might've wanted to throw Carlisle in with Manchester United, Nottingham Forest, and Liverpool, but Carlisle's real connection is that "car" prefix. Similarly, Caballero is actually a Manchester City goalkeeper, which could've tempted you to group him with the other clubs, and Busquets played for Barcelona, so that club connection was another red herring trying to pull you away from the transport wordplay.

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 →