Board #964 — 21 August 2026
The daily soccer grid for 21 August 2026: its six categories, 273 valid answers across nine cells, and where the difficulty sat.
This was the daily board on 21 August 2026 — the 964th since the game began. Boards are generated from their date rather than stored, so this one can be rebuilt exactly, and you can still play it from the Archive tab in the game.
The six categories
Down the side
- Brazilian
- Played for Liverpool
- Argentine
Across the top
- Born in 2000 or later
- Played for Borussia Dortmund
- Goalkeeper
How the nine cells broke down
"Valid answers" is how many players in the dataset satisfied both categories. "Most obvious" is the best-known of them — the name most people reach for, and correspondingly the cheapest. "Best available" is the highest score anybody could have taken from that cell.
| Cell | Valid answers | Most obvious | Its value | Best available |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazilian × Born in 2000 or later | 31 | Vinícius Júnior | +22 | 🦄 +166 |
| Brazilian × Played for Borussia Dortmund | 10 | Tinga | +17 | 💎 +90 |
| Brazilian × Goalkeeper | 41 | Alisson Becker | +26 | 🦄 +166 |
| Played for Liverpool × Born in 2000 or later | 43 | Dominik Szoboszlai | +35 | 🦄 +166 |
| Played for Liverpool × Played for Borussia Dortmund | 6 | Alexander Isak | +19 | 💎 +82 |
| Played for Liverpool × Goalkeeper | 58 | Alisson Becker | +31 | 🦄 +166 |
| Argentine × Born in 2000 or later | 27 | Enzo Fernández | +25 | 🦄 +166 |
| Argentine × Played for Borussia Dortmund | 3 | Leonardo Balerdi | +6 | 🟪 +47 |
| Argentine × Goalkeeper | 54 | Sergio Romero | +30 | 🦄 +166 |
Where this board was won
The tightest cell was Argentine × Played for Borussia Dortmund, with just 3 valid answers in the entire dataset. The roomiest was Played for Liverpool × Goalkeeper at 58, a spread of 55.
That gap is the whole game. The roomy cells are where a careless player burns their obvious names for a handful of points each; the tight ones are where the board is actually decided. Anyone who spent Leonardo Balerdi early would have found the last cell considerably harder — a player can only be used once per board.
Who actually qualified
A sample of up to 6 valid answers per cell, spread across the full range rather than taken from the top of it, so each list runs from the obvious pick down towards the deep cuts. The number beside a name is what that answer would have paid in that cell — the same player is worth a different amount in a different cell, which is most of the strategy.
Brazilian × Born in 2000 or later
- Vinícius Júnior+22
- Igor Thiago+44
- Luiz Henrique+55
- Gabriel Moscardo+65
- Emanuel Vignato+85
- Vicente Nola+166
…and 25 more.
Brazilian × Played for Borussia Dortmund
- Tinga+17
- Reinier+33
- Dedê+39
- Júlio César+41
- Evanílson Aparecido Ferreira+51
- Leandro de Deus Santos+90
…and 4 more.
Brazilian × Goalkeeper
- Alisson Becker+26
- Doni+44
- Júlio Sérgio Bertagnoli+63
- Alexandre Negri+82
- Nícolas Andrade David+99
- Claudio Da Silva+166
…and 35 more.
Played for Liverpool × Born in 2000 or later
- Dominik Szoboszlai+35
- Milos Kerkez+46
- Sepp van den Berg+54
- Bobby Clark+69
- Marcelo Pitaluga+100
- Charlotte Clarke+166
…and 37 more.
Played for Liverpool × Played for Borussia Dortmund
- Alexander Isak+19
- Emre Can+18
- Nuri Şahin+20
- Patrik Berger+34
- Philipp Degen+35
- Karl-Heinz Riedle+82
Played for Liverpool × Goalkeeper
- Alisson Becker+31
- Danny Ward+50
- David Martin+62
- Steve Ogrizovic+94
- Shamal George+125
- Hakan Duyan Burton+166
…and 52 more.
Argentine × Born in 2000 or later
- Enzo Fernández+25
- Giuliano Simeone+40
- Lucas Beltrán+49
- Federico Redondo+59
- Gino Infantino+70
- Adrián Rodríguez+166
…and 21 more.
Argentine × Played for Borussia Dortmund
- Leonardo Balerdi+6
- Diego Klimowicz+17
- Juan Ramón Fernández+47
Argentine × Goalkeeper
- Sergio Romero+30
- Juan Pablo Carrizo+47
- Esteban Andrada+60
- Fabián Assmann+88
- Bernardo Leyenda+117
- Hugo Rubini+166
…and 48 more.