NYT Connections Soccer Edition Puzzle #59 — Answers for August 8, 2026
✅ Full Answers
🟨 German Clubs with Numbers in Their Name
🟩 International Tournaments Played Just Once
🟦 Goalkeepers Called David
🟪 Played for Spain in 2026 World Cup Final
🎯 Strategy Tips
Start with Yellow — if you follow German football, spotting clubs with numbers in their names (1860, 04, 96, 04) is the most accessible group. Next, try to crack Blue: once you realize all four are goalkeepers who share the first name David, it unlocks quickly. Green is tricky because these one-off tournaments are deep cuts from football history — if you're not a football historian, try process of elimination after solving Yellow and Blue. Save Purple for last: it requires knowing the exact roster of Spain's 2026 World Cup Final squad, making it the hardest group today.
⚠️ Red Herring Warning: TORRES is the biggest trap — most players will instinctively associate the name with Fernando Torres (striker, Liverpool/Atletico legend) and try to group it with attackers or Spanish legends, but here it refers to a member of Spain's 2026 World Cup Final squad. DE GEA and RAYA are both Spanish goalkeepers, so players may try to drag them into the Purple group (Spanish players) instead of recognizing the shared first name "David" in Blue. SIMÓN could also be mistaken for a goalkeeper (Unai Simón) and pulled toward the Blue group, but he belongs in Purple as a 2026 World Cup Final squad member. OSPINA might feel like it belongs with international tournament players (Colombia) rather than the David goalkeeper group.