Connections: Soccer Edition hints & answers: Sunday, September 20, 2026

Updated: Sunday, September 20, 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 20, 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 20, 2026)

1One answer from each group

Yellow (easiest): one of its answers is “FENERBAHÇE”.
Green (easy): one of its answers is “MILAN”.
Blue (tricky): one of its answers is “TREATMENT”.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay): one of its answers is “PUNK”.

2Category hints (no answers)

Yellow (easiest): the theme is “Turkish clubs”.
Green (easy): the theme is “Cities to host champions league final”.
Blue (tricky): the theme is “Happens after a bad foul”.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay): the theme is “Premier league players with first letter of surname changed”.

3One full group revealed

Yellow (easiest) — the connection is “Turkish clubs”, and its four answers are: FENERBAHÇE, GALATASARAY, BEŞIKTAŞ, TRABZONSPOR.

Soccer Connections answers — September 20, 2026

★Today's full Soccer Connections answers, explained

Yellow (easiest) — the connection is “Turkish clubs”. The answers: FENERBAHÇE, GALATASARAY, BEŞIKTAŞ, TRABZONSPOR.
Green (easy) — the connection is “Cities to host champions league final”. The answers: MILAN, MADRID, ISTANBUL, BARCELONA.
Blue (tricky) — the connection is “Happens after a bad foul”. The answers: TREATMENT, WHISTLE, FREE KICK, INJURY.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay) — the connection is “Premier league players with first letter of surname changed”. The answers: PUNK, VICE, DASH, BOOK.

The puzzle, explained

The purple group is all about Premier League players whose last names start with a different letter than they actually do—so you've got Bruno Fernandes becoming "BUNK" (wait, that's not quite right), actually it's Harry Kane becoming "KANE" → "PANE"... okay, let me level with you: this one's genuinely tricky because you need to think of real players and imagine swapping their surname's first letter to get these words. The bait here is that TREATMENT, WHISTLE, and FREE KICK all seem like obvious soccer vocabulary, and INJURY feels like it belongs with them since it's what happens after fouls—but they're actually the blue group. ISTANBUL and MADRID are sneaky too because they're cities, making them look like they belong with MILAN and BARCELONA in the green group, but ISTANBUL hosted the Champions League Final while MADRID the city also did, separating them perfectly. The yellow group should've been your gimme since those four Turkish clubs are pretty straightforward once you know your international soccer!

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 →