| UNDERSCORE | Emphasise the failure of footballers to reach their potential (10) |
| BENT | Tendency of footballer to have swapped poles with one in 8 (4) |
| ERCEG | First Kiwi footballer to reach 100-game milestone, Abby - (5) |
| TRICERATOPS | Raptors cite problem with their potential prey (11) |
| THRIVE | Do well and have victory within their potential grasp (6) |
| UNDERACHIEVER | Person not reaching their potential |
| LUCYBRONZE | First English footballer to win the Uefa Women's Player of the Year Award * (10) |
| BACKHANDER | Bribe a footballer to give to Her Majesty? (10) |
| SPECIES | Many of their ___ plan their route to reach their prey and can adapt when the situation changes |
| BUKAYOSAKA | Arsenal player who became the youngest footballer to start a knock-out international for England in their 2-0 Euro 2020 victory over Germany |
| GEOFFHURST | The only footballer to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final |
| BOBBYMOORE | The first footballer to be honoured by a memorial service in Westminster Abbey |
| APRIL | The month in which the BBC's Panorama broadcast its classic piece on the failure of the spaghetti ha |
| MISCARRIAGE | In shipping, the failure of freight to reach its destination (11) |
| SIRSTANLEY | Only footballer to be knighted while still playing, in 1965, ... ... Matthews (3,7) |
| LATEBLOOMER | Person who takes time to reach their full potential |
| ACTOFSETTLEMENT | Piece of legislation from 1701 prompted by the failure of King William III, Queen Mary II and Queen Anne to produce any surviving children |
| APLASIA | In medicine, the failure of an organ or tissue to develop or to function normally (7) |
| BONFIRENIGHT | Holiday that celebrates the failure of a 1605 plot against the British Parliament |
| GREY | Flamingo chicks are born ___ or white and take up to three years to reach their mature pink, orange, or red plumage |
