Get your daily dose of word game excitement with the newest New York Times addition to your routine – Connections Sports Edition. For those of us already addicted to Wordle, Connections, Strands, and the Mini Crossword, this sports-themed word puzzle is the perfect way to test your skills and challenge your mind.
Today, on December 5, 2025, dive into Connections Sports Edition for a fun and engaging experience. Each day, this game resets at 12 a.m. EST with 16 different words for you to decipher. Your task is to group these words into categories and find the common thread that ties them together, with four unique categories to explore.
Created through a partnership between The New York Times and The Athletic, Connections Sports Edition brings a sports-specific twist to the classic word puzzle format. The goal is to connect sports terms that share a common theme, offering a new challenge for avid players and sports enthusiasts alike.
Wondering what today’s categories might be? Here are some hints to get you started:
Yellow: Think World Cup sport
Green: Hosted in Canada, Mexico, and the US
Blue: Could it be coming home?
Purple: Newcomers to the big event
Excited to uncover the categories for today? Here they are:
Yellow: THE BEAUTIFUL GAME, IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES
Green: 2026 WORLD CUP HOST CITIES
Blue: ENGLISH MEN’S SOCCER PLAYERS
Purple: COUNTRIES QUALIFIED FOR THEIR FIRST WORLD CUP IN 2026
Ready to see if you guessed correctly? Here are the answers:
THE BEAUTIFUL GAME, IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES: CALICO, FOOTBALL, FUTBOL, SOCCER
2026 WORLD CUP HOST CITIES: ATLANTA, EAST RUTHERFORD, MEXICO CITY, TORONTO
ENGLISH MEN’S SOCCER PLAYERS: FODEN, KANE, RICE, SAKA
COUNTRIES QUALIFIED FOR THEIR FIRST WORLD CUP IN 2026: CAP VERDE, CURACAO, JORDAN, UZBEKISTAN
If you didn’t get them all, don’t worry – it’s all part of the fun and challenge of the game. Keep playing and expanding your knowledge of the sports world through the unique lens of Connections Sports Edition.
Peace Nero is a writer and blogger who loves to explore different topics of self-development. She shares her personal experiences in order to help people discover their true purpose in life.