| ACUNA | Marcos ..., Argentina left back who was in the 2022 World Cup-winning squad (5) |
| INSUA | Emiliano ...., 2009-17 Argentina left-back (5) |
| LAMA | Bernard ___ French former footballer who was a member of the 1998 World Cup-winning squad (4) |
| TINDALL | Husband of Zara Phillips who formed part of the 2003 Rugby World Cup-winning squad with Mike Catt, P |
| UPSET | Morocco beating Spain in the 2022 World Cup, for example |
| MESSI | Golden Ball winner in the 2022 World Cup |
| ASTRO | Winning player in the 2022 World Series |
| HOSTS | China, for the 2022 Olympics, and Qatar, for the 2022 World Cup |
| QATAR | Arab country that will host the 2022 World Cup (5) |
| RUSSO | Alessia ---, member of England's UEFA Women's Euro 2022 winning squad (5) |
| CRANE | Callum ..... , Hibs left-back who spent time in 2015-16 on loan at Berwick (5) |
| DIGNE | Lucas ___, French international left-back who joined Aston Villa from Everton in 2022 |
| OSSIE | - - - Male, 1920s Wales full-back who was ludicrously suspended by the WRU for playing a club match within six days of an International (5) |
| LOSER | France, of the 2022 World Cup Final |
| GIROUD | Olivier, French striker who scored the winner in the 2022 World Cup quarterfinal against England (6) |
| SAUDIARABIA | Middle Eastern team that handed Argentina the eventual champion its only loss in the 2022 World Cup: 2 wds. |
| ROJO | - Marcos, Argentina defender who scored the winning goal against Nigeria in the FIFA World Cup (4) |
| MBAPPE | Kylian ___, scorer of a hat trick in the 2022 World Cup final (6) |
| LIONELMESSI | Argentine soccer star who won the Golden Ball (best player) at the 2022 World Cup: 2 wds. |
| MARCELO | Brazilian left-back who is the most decorated player in the history of Real Madrid |
