Sports

Connections: Soccer Edition today: Hints and answers for June 30, 2026, puzzle No. 20

Published

1 month ago

June 30, 2026

qasimgillani

Need help with today’s Connections: Soccer Edition puzzle? You’ve come to the right place.

Welcome to Connections: Soccer Edition Coach — a spot to gather clues and discuss (and share) scores.

A quick public service announcement before we continue: The bottom of this article includes the answers — and hints — for the four categories. So if you want to solve the board hint-free, we recommend you play before continuing.

You can access today’s game here.

Today’s difficulty

Game No. 20’s difficulty: 3 out of 5

Connections: Soccer Edition hints for June 30, 2026

Scroll below for one answer in each of the four categories.

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Yellow: SILVER GOAL

Green: BROADCAST

Blue: BARCELONA

Purple: TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

Connections: Soccer Edition answers for June 30, 2026

Scroll below for the full answers to each of the four categories.

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Yellow

Tiebreakers: EXTRA TIME, PENALTY SHOOTOUT, GOLDEN GOAL, SILVER GOAL

Green

Television _____: BROADCAST, REPLAY, CAMERA, ANCHOR

Blue

Spanish clubs: ATLÉTICO MADRID, BARCELONA, VILLARREAL, SEVILLA

Purple

Harry Kane clubs: BAYERN MUNICH, TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR, MILLWALL, LEYTON ORIENT

What is Connections: Soccer Edition?

Connections: Soccer Edition is a new, daily puzzle for the 2026 World Cup designed for players to find connections between 16 words on the game board.

The game’s objective is to group sixteen words or objects into four groups of four based on commonalities within each group as quickly as possible. You are allowed to make three mistakes but fail a fourth time and the game ends with the answers being revealed.

Each puzzle has exactly one solution, so watch out for words or items that seem to belong to multiple categories!

Category examples:
Teams making World Cup debut in 2026: Cape Verde, Jordan, Curaçao, Uzbekistan
Penalty ____: Spot, Kick, Taker, Shootout

Each category group is assigned a color, which is revealed when you solve it, ranging from easy (yellow) to medium (green) to challenging (blue) to difficult (purple). Of course, these group rankings are subject to interpretation, so you may solve a harder one before an easier one!

Who creates the puzzles for Connections: Soccer Edition?

I do! My name is Will Jeanes and I create Connections: Soccer Edition and work as a senior editor at The Athletic. I also do some writing, focusing mostly on soccer history and statistics.

The next puzzle will be available at midnight in your time zone. Thanks for playing — and share your scores in the comments!

Sports

Wigan overpower Toulouse to close gap on leaders

Published

4 minutes ago

August 9, 2026

qasimgillani

Highlights of the Super League clash between Wigan Warriors and Toulouse Olympique.

Sports

How to watch Blue Jays vs. Phillies: TV channel and streaming options for August 8

Published

10 minutes ago

August 9, 2026

qasimgillani

Aug. 8, 2026 Updated 5:13 pm EDT

The Toronto Blue Jays visit the Philadelphia Phillies at 6:05 p.m. ET on Saturday. Aaron Nola (3-9, 5.55 ERA) gets the start for the Phillies, who are 62-55 this season and second in the NL East. Max Scherzer (1-4, 7.92 ERA) is starting for the Blue Jays, who are 55-62 and fifth in the AL East.

How to watch Toronto Blue Jays vs. Philadelphia Phillies

Blue Jays vs. Phillies odds

Favorite Moneyline: Phillies -175
Underdog Moneyline: Blue Jays +145
Total: 9.5
Total Over Odds: -102
Total Under Odds: -118

Injury reports

Phillies

Rafael Marchan: 10 Day IL (Knee), Johan Rojas: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Brad Keller: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Adolis Garcia: 60 Day IL (Lat), Tanner Banks: 60 Day IL (Forearm), Derek Hill: day-to-day (Shoulder), Andrew Painter: day-to-day (Hamstring)

Blue Jays

Luis Urias: 10 Day IL (Quadricep), Jonatan Clase: 10 Day IL (Foot), Spencer Arrighetti: 15 Day IL (Foot), Trey Yesavage: 15 Day IL (Knee), Cody Ponce: 60 Day IL (Knee), Anthony Santander: 60 Day IL (Shoulder), Bowden Francis: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Joe Mantiply: 60 Day IL (Knee), Addison Barger: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Yimi Garcia: 60 Day IL (Elbow), José Berrios: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Lenyn Sosa: 60 Day IL (Wrist), Patrick Corbin: 60 Day IL (Shoulder), Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: day-to-day (Hamstring)

Stats to know

Philadelphia’s Bryce Harper is slashing .257/.366/.500 this season with 24 home runs (16th in MLB), 70 RBIs (17th in MLB) and an OPS of .866 (16th in MLB). He has a 21.1% strikeout rate and a 15% walk rate in 494 plate appearances, and he has scored 71 total runs. Harper has recorded six steals on 11 attempts.
In 482 plate appearances, Luis Arraez has hit five long balls, tallied 47 RBIs and scored 54 runs. He is batting .323/.359/.446 and has posted a 4.6% strikeout rate and a 5.4% walk rate. Arraez has recorded 10 steals on 10 attempts.
Ernie Clement has hit nine home runs this season. He has also tallied 38 RBIs and has scored 48 runs. In 461 plate appearances, he has recorded a .284 BA, .308 OBP and .411 SLG with a 3.3% walk rate and a 9.5% strikeout rate.
In 456 plate appearances, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has hit six long balls, tallied 44 RBIs and scored 56 runs. He is batting .259/.338/.349 and has posted a 13.6% strikeout rate and a 10.1% walk rate. Guerrero has recorded seven steals on 10 attempts.

This watch guide was created using technology provided by Data Skrive.

Betting/odds, ticketing and streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.

Photo: Jamie Squire, Ishika Samant, Scott Taetsch, Alika Jenner / Getty Images

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Aug 9, 2026

Connections: Sports Edition

Spot the pattern. Connect the terms

Find the hidden link between sports terms

Sports

How to watch Mets vs. Pirates: TV channel and streaming options for August 8

Published

15 minutes ago

August 9, 2026

qasimgillani

Aug. 8, 2026 Updated 6:16 pm EDT

The New York Mets will look to Marcus Semien, currently on a two-game homer streak, versus the Pittsburgh Pirates at 6:40 p.m. ET on Saturday, at PNC Park. Bubba Chandler (4-8, 4.49 ERA) gets the start for the Pirates, who are 57-61 this season and fifth in the NL Central. Robert Stock (0-1, 1.80 ERA) is expected to start for the Mets, who are 51-66 and fifth in the NL East.

How to watch New York Mets vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

Mets vs. Pirates odds

Favorite Moneyline: Pirates -118
Underdog Moneyline: Mets -102
Total: 9
Total Over Odds: -118
Total Under Odds: -102

Injury reports

Pirates

Ryan O’Hearn: 10 Day IL (Quadricep), Mitch Keller: 60 Day IL (Arm), Oneil Cruz: 60 Day IL (Hand), Konnor Griffin: 60 Day IL (Finger)

Mets

Mark Vientos: 10 Day IL (Hand), Juan Soto: 10 Day IL (Calf), Austin Warren: 15 Day IL (Forearm), Cionel Perez: 15 Day IL (Forearm), Tylor Megill: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Justin Hagenman: 60 Day IL (Rib), Reed Garrett: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Carson Benge: day-to-day (Wrist)

Stats to know

Pittsburgh’s Bryan Reynolds has hit 15 home runs this season. He has also tallied 63 RBIs and has scored 78 runs. In 514 plate appearances, he has recorded a .267 BA, .377 OBP and .442 SLG with a 13.6% walk rate and a 24.5% strikeout rate. He has been effective on the base paths, recording seven steals on seven attempts.
In 485 plate appearances, Brandon Lowe has hit 24 long balls (16th in MLB), tallied 73 RBIs (10th in MLB) and scored 70 runs (19th in MLB). He is batting .254/.320/.483 and has posted a 27.8% strikeout rate and an 8.9% walk rate.
Carson Benge has hit 13 home runs this season. He has also tallied 46 RBIs and has scored 61 runs. In 461 plate appearances, he has recorded a .270 BA, .330 OBP and .412 SLG with a 7.2% walk rate and a 21.9% strikeout rate. He has been effective on the base paths, recording 18 steals on 21 attempts.
In 503 plate appearances, Bo Bichette has hit 11 long balls, tallied 56 RBIs and scored 54 runs. He is batting .256/.300/.369 and has posted an 18.5% strikeout rate and a 6% walk rate.

This watch guide was created using technology provided by Data Skrive.

Photo: Jamie Squire, Ishika Samant, Scott Taetsch, Alika Jenner / Getty Images

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Aug 9, 2026