Connections: Soccer Edition hints & answers: Thursday, October 22, 2026

Updated: Thursday, October 22, 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 Thursday, October 22, 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 22, 2026)

1One answer from each group

Yellow (easiest): one of its answers is “GOAL LINE”.
Green (easy): one of its answers is “ZZ”.
Blue (tricky): one of its answers is “SCORER”.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay): one of its answers is “COMMONWEALTH”.

2Category hints (no answers)

Yellow (easiest): the theme is “Markings on a pitch”.
Green (easy): the theme is “Alliterative initials of players to score in the world cup final”.
Blue (tricky): the theme is “Top _____”.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay): the theme is “Stadiums in canada”.

3One full group revealed

Yellow (easiest) — the connection is “Markings on a pitch”, and its four answers are: GOAL LINE, TOUCHLINE, CENTER-CIRCLE, PENALTY SPOT.

Soccer Connections answers — October 22, 2026

★Today's full Soccer Connections answers, explained

Yellow (easiest) — the connection is “Markings on a pitch”. The answers: GOAL LINE, TOUCHLINE, CENTER-CIRCLE, PENALTY SPOT.
Green (easy) — the connection is “Alliterative initials of players to score in the world cup final”. The answers: ZZ, PP, MM, HH.
Blue (tricky) — the connection is “Top _____”. The answers: SCORER, CORNER, SEED, DIVISION.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay) — the connection is “Stadiums in canada”. The answers: COMMONWEALTH, BC, BMO, PRINCESS AUTO.

The puzzle, explained

The purple group is all Canadian stadiums, but they're disguised as totally different things—COMMONWEALTH Stadium in Edmonton, BC Place in Vancouver, BMO Field in Toronto, and Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg. The trick is that these names sound like they could mean anything else: "BC" looks like British Columbia, "BMO" seems like a banking abbreviation (it is—Bank of Montreal, but it's the stadium's name), and "PRINCESS AUTO" sounds like it's describing a car feature rather than a venue. Meanwhile, "COMMONWEALTH" almost feels like it belongs with DIVISION in the "TOP _____" group since you hear about Commonwealth divisions, which probably baited a few people into mixing up their categories. If you grabbed CORNER thinking it completed "TOP CORNER" in soccer, that's the other sneaky misdirect the puzzle was counting on!

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