Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today's Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today's Connections: Sports Edition features a fun soccer topic that World Cup watchers might appreciate. 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: You might build a house with them.

Green group hint: Hoops stars.

Blue group hint: Start your engines.

Purple group hint: World Cup wonders.

Answers for today's Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Boards.

Green group: Hall of Fame Spurs.

Blue group: Locations of famous auto races.

Purple group: Soccer skill moves.

Read more: The Best and Worst Letters for Wordle, According to the Data

What are today's Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today's Connections

The theme is boards. The four answers are skate, snow, surf and wake.

The green words in today's Connections

The theme is Hall of Fame Spurs. The four answers are Duncan, Gervin, Ginobili and Parker.

The blue words in today's Connections

The theme is locations of famous auto races. The four answers are Daytona, Indianapolis, Le Mans and Monaco.

The purple words in today's Connections

The theme is soccer skill moves. The four answers are nutmeg, Olimpico, rabona and stepover.

Toughest Connections: Sports Edition categories

The Connections: Sports Edition puzzle can be tough, but it really depends on which sports you know the most about. My husband aces anything having to do with Formula 1, my best friend is a hockey buff, and I can answer any question about Minnesota teams.

That said, it's hard to pick the toughest Connections categories, but here are some I found exceptionally mind-blowing.

#1: Serie A Clubs. Answers: Atalanta, Juventus, Lazio, Roma.

#2: WNBA MVPs. Answers: Catchings, Delle Donne, Fowles and Stewart.

#3: Premier League team nicknames. Answers: Bees, Cherries, Foxes and Hammers.

#4: Homophones of NBA player names. Answers: Barns, Connect, Heart and Hero.