World Cup Daily · Level 1 · 21 clues · 15×15

Nations and Knockouts

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0 pts

1 ACROSSOne who keeps clean sheets without doing laundry (6)

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Word+10

No hint+5

Perfect+50

Done+25

5 min+30

Hint-5

Across

1One who keeps clean sheets without doing laundry (6)

2Poker piece, birthday note, or punishment from the ref (4)

5Settle a debt, compose music, or read the board — all the same word (5)

7South of Bolivia, west of Brazil — a Guarani-speaking 2026 contender (8)

9Not quite onside: past the last man when the pass is played (7)

11A stand-full of noise built around a pitch — the arena of arenas (7)

14Low country, high ambition — Oranje runs on tulip pride (11)

16Lawyers argue it; managers shout it; strikers hate facing it (7)

17A cause's defender, or the side nobody beats at the end (8)

18Catch fish, connect devices, or end a goal — three letters (3)

19Circular, or a stage in a competition — the bell rings between each (5)

20Maple Leaf nation hosting its first World Cup — O ___! (6)

Down

1Boot meets ball at the centre circle — the tournament ignites (7)

3Pull a weapon, sketch a picture, or end with equal goals (4)

4Play one, hunt one, or name what every match becomes (4)

6Referee's short form — also what players argue with after every call (3)

8Southern Hemisphere's largest football nation — kangaroo country (9)

10Neutral in politics, precise in defence — a landlocked Alpine giant (11)

12North African kingdom where the desert meets the pitch (7)

13El Diego's ghost, Leo's glory — South American champions again (9)

15One who hits, bowls, or leads the line in search of goals (7)