Connections: Soccer Edition hints & answers: Sunday, October 11, 2026

Updated: Sunday, October 11, 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, October 11, 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 (October 11, 2026)

1One answer from each group

Yellow (easiest): one of its answers is “POSSESSION”.
Green (easy): one of its answers is “CORINTHIANS”.
Blue (tricky): one of its answers is “TRANSFERMARKT”.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay): one of its answers is “MANCINI”.

2Category hints (no answers)

Yellow (easiest): the theme is “Stats from a game”.
Green (easy): the theme is “Club world cup winners”.
Blue (tricky): the theme is “Soccer stats websites”.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay): the theme is “European championship-winning head coaches”.

3One full group revealed

Yellow (easiest) — the connection is “Stats from a game”, and its four answers are: POSSESSION, SHOTS, CORNERS, PASSES.

Soccer Connections answers — October 11, 2026

★Today's full Soccer Connections answers, explained

Yellow (easiest) — the connection is “Stats from a game”. The answers: POSSESSION, SHOTS, CORNERS, PASSES.
Green (easy) — the connection is “Club world cup winners”. The answers: CORINTHIANS, SÃO PAULO, BAYERN MUNICH, INTER MILAN.
Blue (tricky) — the connection is “Soccer stats websites”. The answers: TRANSFERMARKT, WHOSCORED, FBREF, SQUAWKA.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay) — the connection is “European championship-winning head coaches”. The answers: MANCINI, SANTOS, DEL BOSQUE, REHHAGEL.

The puzzle, explained

The purple group is all head coaches who won the European Championship (Euro), which is the trickiest category because their last names don't scream "famous soccer manager" the way you might expect—MANCINI won it with Italy in 2020, SANTOS with Portugal in 2016, DEL BOSQUE with Spain in 2012, and REHHAGEL with Greece in 2004. The main bait here was probably SANTOS, since it's also the name of a major Brazilian club that won the Club World Cup, so you might've been tempted to throw it in the green group with Corinthians, São Paulo, and Inter Milan. MANCINI could also trip you up because it's a common Italian name and you might associate it with various players rather than remembering he's a legendary manager. Once you locked in that purple group, everything else fell into place pretty cleanly—the yellow stats, the green World Cup winners, and the blue analytics sites all made sense.

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 (157 puzzles) → · How to play Connections: Soccer Edition →