NYT Connections: Soccer Edition for June 13, 2026, puzzle #3, brought another football-heavy board with a mix of obvious equipment clues and deeper soccer knowledge. The puzzle was created by Will Jeanes of The Athletic and asked solvers to move between Champions League coaches, match phrases, soccer kits and Brazilian football culture.
The easiest group was likely the soccer kit category, while the harder rows depended on knowing elite head coaches, completing a familiar phrase beginning with “half,” and recognizing terms tied to Brazil’s football identity.
NYT Connections: Soccer Edition June 13 Hints
Green hint: Think of elite managers in Europe.
Sharper clue: These are surnames of head coaches who have won the UEFA Champions League.
Trap to avoid: Do not group them only by current clubs or nationality. The shared link is Champions League-winning head coaches.
Yellow hint: Think about what players wear.
Sharper clue: These are standard parts of a soccer kit.
Trap to avoid: Do not overthink this group. It is the most direct equipment-based category on the board.
Purple hint: Complete a phrase that starts with one word.
Sharper clue: Each answer can follow “half” to make a soccer or sports-related expression.
Trap to avoid: Chance, time, volley and way look unrelated until the missing first word is added.
Blue hint: Think Brazil.
Sharper clue: These clues point to Brazilian soccer culture, history, icons and identity.
Trap to avoid: Pelé is the clearest anchor, but the other words connect through Brazil in different ways.
Common wrong paths: Today’s puzzle could push solvers into broad soccer groupings too quickly. Boots, Shinpads, Shorts and Socks are straightforward kit items, but Chance, Time, Volley and Way require adding “half” first. The Brazil group also needs wider soccer knowledge, with Jogo Bonito, Maracanã, Pelé and Yellow all pointing to different parts of Brazil’s football image.
Today’s NYT Connections: Soccer Edition Answers
Green Group
Tap to reveal Green answers
Category: Champions League-winning head coaches
Answers: Flick, Guardiola, Klopp, Mourinho
Explanation: These are surnames of managers who have won the UEFA Champions League as head coaches: Hansi Flick, Pep Guardiola, Jürgen Klopp and José Mourinho.
Main trap: The names can pull solvers toward club history, leagues or rivalries, but the clean connection is their Champions League-winning managerial record.
Yellow Group
Tap to reveal Yellow answers
Category: Soccer kit
Answers: Boots, Shinpads, Shorts, Socks
Explanation: These are standard items worn by soccer players during a match. Boots, shinpads, shorts and socks all form part of a player’s match kit.
Main trap: This was the cleanest category, but it could be missed if solvers were looking only for teams, players or tournament clues.
Purple Group
Tap to reveal Purple answers
Category: HALF ____
Answers: Chance, Time, Volley, Way
Explanation: Each word can follow half to create a familiar phrase: half-chance, half-time, half-volley and halfway.
Main trap: The answers do not look like a set until the missing first word is added. Half-time may be the strongest soccer anchor, while half-volley gives the group a more technical football clue.
Blue Group
Tap to reveal Blue answers
Category: Associated with Brazilian soccer
Answers: Jogo Bonito, Maracanã, Pelé, Yellow
Explanation: These clues are strongly tied to Brazil’s soccer identity. Jogo Bonito is associated with Brazil’s beautiful-game style, Maracanã is the famous stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Pelé is Brazil’s legendary football icon, and Yellow points to the national team’s famous shirt color.
Main trap: Pelé is the obvious anchor, but the group only becomes clear when the other clues are read through Brazilian soccer culture rather than general football terms.
Today’s Soccer Edition puzzle rewarded solvers who could switch between direct soccer equipment, European coaching history, phrase-building and national football culture. The board was not only about knowing soccer terms, but recognizing which type of soccer knowledge each group required.
For official gameplay, players can visit the New York Times Games page.
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