| MEGANRAPINOE | She won the Golden Ball earlier this month as the best player in the 2019 Women's World Cup |
| OLIVERKAHN | German goalkeeper who won the Golden Ball as the best player in the 2002 World Cup |
| ROSELAVELLE | She scored the final goal in the 2019 Women's World Cup |
| NIKOLATESLA | Croatia was approved this month as the 20th nation to adopt the euro as its currency; what Croatian-born inventor was played by Ethan Hawke in a 2020 biopic? |
| TWICEAYEAR | Every six months, as the equinox occurs? (5,1,4) |
| INADVANCE | Very boring during a ball earlier (2,7) |
| KOBE | LeBron said he was "definitely the best player in the NBA" |
| THEGOAT | Nickname for the best player in the history of a sport |
| TONYHAWK | Skateboarder whose son, Riley, married 12-Across's daughter earlier this month, as first reported this week |
| KURTCOBAIN | Late singer whose daughter, Francis Bean, married 22-Across's son earlier this month, as first reported this week |
| LIONELMESSI | Argentine soccer star who won the Golden Ball (best player) at the 2022 World Cup: 2 wds. |
| SALAH | Egyptian-born forward for Premier League club Liverpool and the Egypt national team. Considered one of the best players in the world, he is the captain of the Egyptian national team. (6) |
| BONMATI | Aitana, midfielder who won the Golden Ball in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup (7) |
| MEGAN | Footballer who captained the US team to the 2019 Women's World Cup (5,7) |
| USA | Country that won the 2019 Women's World Cup |
| KAHN | Oliver who won the Golden Ball at the 2002 World Cup |
| ALEX | Morgan of the 2019 Women's World Cup winning team |
| LYON | Host city of the 2019 Women's World Cup final |
| FRANCE | Host of the 2019 Women's World Cup |
| JAMES | Who won the best player of the tournament award in the Copa America 2024? (5) |
