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The World Cup Draw is today, and today’s Connections: Sports Edition honors that event in every single category. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.
Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.
Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta
Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Think World Cup sport.
Green group hint: It’ll be held in Canada, Mexico and the US.
Blue group hint: It’s coming home. Maybe?
Purple group hint: New to the big event.
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: The beautiful game, in different countries.
Green group: 2026 World Cup host cities.
Blue group: English men’s soccer players.
Purple group: Countries qualified for their first World Cup in 2026.
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?
The completed NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Dec. 5, 2025.
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is the beautiful game, in different countries. The four answers are calcio, football, fútbol and soccer.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is 2026 World Cup host cities. The four answers are Atlanta, East Rutherford, Mexico City and Toronto.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is English men’s soccer players. The four answers are Foden, Kane, Rice and Saka.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is countries qualified for their first World Cup in 2026. The four answers are Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan.
Toughest Connections: Sports Edition categories
The Connections: Sports Edition puzzle can be tough, but it really depends on which sports you know the most about. My husband aces anything having to do with Formula 1, my best friend is a hockey buff, and I can answer any question about Minnesota teams.
That said, it’s hard to pick the toughest Connections categories, but here are some I found exceptionally mind-blowing recently.
#1: Series A Clubs, Jan. 11. Answers: Atalanta, Juventus, Lazio, Roma.
#2: WNBA MVPs, Jan. 21. Answers: Catchings, Delle Donne, Fowles and Stewart.
#3: Premier League team nicknames, Jan. 17. Answers: Bees, Cherries, Foxes and Hammers.
#4: Homophones of NBA player names, Jan. 26. Answers: Barns, Connect, Heart and Hero.
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