NYT Connections Soccer Edition Puzzle #33 — Answers for July 13, 2026
✅ Full Answers
🟨 Played in just one Premier League season
🟩 World Cup final stadiums in Southern Hemisphere
🟦 Soccer songs
🟪 Scored World Cup hat-trick
🎯 Strategy Tips
Start with Blue (Soccer songs) if you are familiar with tournament anthems — Waka Waka, Wavin' Flag, Three Lions, and World in Motion stand out clearly. Next, tackle the Yellow group (one-season Premier League wonders) by identifying Swindon, Barnsley, Blackpool, and Luton. Once those are out of the way, focus on Green (Southern Hemisphere World Cup final stadiums) — Centenario (Uruguay), Monumental (Argentina), Nacional (Chile), and Soccer City (South Africa). This leaves the toughest group, Purple (World Cup hat-trick scorers), where you can safely match Batistuta, Higuaín, Shaqiri, and the tricky outlier Kiss.
⚠️ Red Herring Warning: The biggest red herring is the word KISS. It looks completely out of place in a soccer puzzle and might tempt you to think of romantic themes or musical acts (linking with New Order's World in Motion or Shakira). However, it refers to László Kiss, the Hungarian forward. Another trap is SOCCER CITY — because it starts with "Soccer," players might try to link it with "Soccer songs" (Blue) or think of it as a generic term rather than the South African stadium that hosted the 2010 World Cup Final.