The Athletic's Connections: Soccer Edition isn't going anywhere. Launched to coincide with the 2026 men's World Cup, the daily soccer trivia puzzle has proven popular enough to earn a permanent slot — published every day at midnight in your local time zone, for the foreseeable future.
The concept will be familiar to anyone who's lost twenty minutes to the New York Times' Connections or its sports-focused sibling, Connections: Sports Edition. This version narrows the lens entirely to football — sixteen words grouped into four categories of four, with anagrams, player names, football terminology, and some genuinely devious wordplay thrown into the mix.
How the puzzle works
Each puzzle has exactly one correct solution. You get three mistakes before the game ends and reveals the answers — so overconfidence will punish you. Categories are colour-coded by difficulty, yellow being the most straightforward and purple the most punishing, though the designers are quick to note that what feels easy to one person might trip up another entirely.
To give a sense of the range: category examples include Teams making World Cup debut in 2026 (Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan, Uzbekistan) and Penalty ____ (Spot, Kick, Taker, Shootout). The puzzles reward both deep football knowledge and lateral thinking — you don't need to be a dedicated supporter to play, but experts will find plenty to test themselves against.
- New puzzle drops daily at midnight in your local time zone
- Free to play via The Athletic's website and app
- Available through the newly launched Play Center (an app update may be required)
- Also promoted across newsletters and articles
What's not continuing
One caveat worth flagging: the coach profiles that ran throughout the World Cup tournament are finished. The puzzle carries on; the editorial companion pieces do not.
For a game built around the world's most-played sport, the decision to keep it running daily makes straightforward sense. Whether you're watching a Champions League night or just filling a spare five minutes, the puzzle is there. It's free. That combination tends to build habits fast.
