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Today's Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. Let's hope you know the US men's World Cup team! If you're struggling with the puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn't appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic's own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today's Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today's Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Keep running!

Green group hint: Time to brag.

Blue group hint: The Yanks are playing.

Purple group hint: Liberty ____.

Answers for today's Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Portion of a race.

Green group: Show off.

Blue group: US men's soccer players.

Purple group: ____ bell.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today's Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today's Connections

The theme is portion of a race. The four answers are lap, leg, segment and stage.

The green words in today's Connections

The theme is show off. The four answers are flaunt, grandstand, hotdog and showboat.

The blue words in today's Connections

The theme is US men's soccer players. The four answers are Balogun, Dest, Ream and Scally.

The purple words in today's Connections

The theme is ____ bell. The four answers are bar, Cool Papa, kettle and victory.