Connections: Soccer Edition hints & answers: Friday, November 13, 2026

Updated: Friday, November 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 Friday, November 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 (November 13, 2026)

1One answer from each group

Yellow (easiest): one of its answers is “DIVE”.
Green (easy): one of its answers is “WHISTLE”.
Blue (tricky): one of its answers is “FREE”.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay): one of its answers is “BEST”.

2Category hints (no answers)

Yellow (easiest): the theme is “Against the rules”.
Green (easy): the theme is “Refereeing equipment”.
Blue (tricky): the theme is “Types of kicks”.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay): the theme is “Won european cup/champions league with manchester united”.

3One full group revealed

Yellow (easiest) — the connection is “Against the rules”, and its four answers are: DIVE, TRIP, HANDBALL, PUSH.

Soccer Connections answers — November 13, 2026

★Today's full Soccer Connections answers, explained

Yellow (easiest) — the connection is “Against the rules”. The answers: DIVE, TRIP, HANDBALL, PUSH.
Green (easy) — the connection is “Refereeing equipment”. The answers: WHISTLE, PEN, COIN, WATCH.
Blue (tricky) — the connection is “Types of kicks”. The answers: FREE, CORNER, GOAL, SCISSOR.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay) — the connection is “Won european cup/champions league with manchester united”. The answers: BEST, STILES, BUTT, BROWN.

The puzzle, explained

The purple group is all players who won the European Cup or Champions League with Manchester United—George Best, Nobby Stiles, Johnny Butt, and Wes Brown—but the trick is that three of them are also common English words, which makes them feel like they should belong elsewhere. "Best" and "Brown" are adjectives you use every day, while "Butt" is a noun, so your brain automatically groups them with regular vocabulary instead of thinking "oh, these are surnames." The blue group's "FREE" and "CORNER" are definitely bait because they're both types of kicks in soccer, but they're actually part of the green group's "FREE KICK" and "CORNER KICK" combinations—well, almost; the real answer is just the kicks themselves in the blue category. If you locked in the easy stuff first (the obvious fouls and ref equipment), you probably spent way too long trying to make "BEST," "BROWN," and "BUTT" fit with colors or body parts before realizing they were all just legendary United players.

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.

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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 →