The New York Times ’ Sports Edition of the daily Connections puzzle is out, and today’s categories center around the upcoming World Cup. This edition is published by The Athletic and can be found in their app or played for free online.
Here are the answers for the Dec. 5, #438 puzzle:
Yellow Group: Global Football Terms
The yellow category groups different international terms for soccer. The correct answers are calcio (Italian), football (British), fútbol (Spanish), and soccer (American).
Green Group: 2026 World Cup Host Cities
The green category focuses on cities hosting the 2026 World Cup. The four words are Atlanta, East Rutherford, Mexico City, and Toronto.
Blue Group: English Soccer Stars
The blue category features prominent English men’s soccer players. The answers include Foden, Kane, Rice, and Saka.
Purple Group: World Cup First-Timers
The purple category is the most challenging, and identifies countries qualifying for their first World Cup in 2026. The words are Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan, and Uzbekistan.
Why This Matters: The Connections puzzle tests general knowledge, but the Sports Edition demonstrates how familiarity with specific sports cultures influences success. The puzzle highlights the global reach of soccer, the excitement surrounding the 2026 tournament, and the diversity of national teams. It also shows how cultural language barriers can affect even simple word associations.
Past Challenges: Some of the most difficult past categories have included obscure sports references, like Series A Clubs (Jan. 11), WNBA MVPs (Jan. 21), Premier League nicknames (Jan. 17), and NBA homophones (Jan. 26). These highlight the puzzle’s reliance on niche sports knowledge for maximum difficulty.
Ultimately, the Connections puzzle offers a daily test of sports literacy and cultural awareness, revealing how much trivia knowledge impacts success in this word association game.
