NYT Connections Soccer Edition Puzzle #37 — Answers for July 17, 2026
✅ Full Answers
🟨 Variations of 'Game'
🟩 ___ Ball
🟦 Won World Cup as Host Nation
🟪 Scored an English Top-Flight Hat-Trick
🎯 Strategy Tips
Start with Yellow. "Fixture, Leg, Match, Tie" are the cleanest synonyms for a game and clear four words fast. Next lock in Green by testing the shared word "ball" (drop-ball, football, handball, through-ball). That leaves the eight football-flavoured words, and the whole puzzle hinges on one insight: the country group is defined by hosting AND winning, not just winning. Once you accept that Brazil (a non-host winner) is the odd one out, it drops into the surnames group with King, Rush, and Wood — and the grid falls into place.
⚠️ Red Herring Warning: The biggest trap is the country overlap. "Brazil" screams "nation" and sits right next to England, France, Italy, and Uruguay, luring solvers into a five-into-four "countries" mistake. But Brazil belongs in Purple as the surname of Alan Brazil, who once scored all five goals for Ipswich Town against Southampton in the old First Division. Blue is strictly host winners, so Brazil (never a host winner as a country) can't go there anyway. Likewise, "King" and "Wood" masquerade as common nouns, and "Match," "Tie," and "Leg" all double as everyday words unrelated to football.