Board #969 — 26 August 2026
The daily soccer grid for 26 August 2026: its six categories, 581 valid answers across nine cells, and where the difficulty sat.
This was the daily board on 26 August 2026 — the 969th 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
- Played for an African club
- Played in 3+ of the top 5 leagues
- Played for a South American club
Across the top
- French
- Played for AC Milan or Inter
- English
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Played for an African club × French | 64 | Florent Malouda | +10 | 🦄 +166 |
| Played for an African club × Played for AC Milan or Inter | 24 | Rivaldo | +30 | 🦄 +138 |
| Played for an African club × English | 7 | Alex Nimely | +6 | 🦄 +124 |
| Played in 3+ of the top 5 leagues × French | 152 | Zinedine Zidane | +37 | 🦄 +166 |
| Played in 3+ of the top 5 leagues × Played for AC Milan or Inter | 163 | David Beckham | +46 | 🦄 +166 |
| Played in 3+ of the top 5 leagues × English | 6 | David Beckham | +6 | 🌈 +59 |
| Played for a South American club × French | 9 | David Trezeguet | +13 | 🦄 +142 |
| Played for a South American club × Played for AC Milan or Inter | 150 | Ronaldinho | +42 | 🦄 +166 |
| Played for a South American club × English | 6 | Jesse Lingard | +7 | 🦄 +130 |
Where this board was won
The tightest cell was Played in 3+ of the top 5 leagues × English, with just 6 valid answers in the entire dataset. The roomiest was Played in 3+ of the top 5 leagues × Played for AC Milan or Inter at 163, a spread of 157.
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 David Beckham 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.
Played for an African club × French
- Florent Malouda+10
- Mohamed Benyahia+64
- Michaël Fabre+87
- Karim El Hany+98
- Karim Meliani+108
- Stéphane Boulila+166
…and 58 more.
Played for an African club × Played for AC Milan or Inter
- Rivaldo+30
- Mbaye Niang+37
- Victor Obinna+42
- Nwankwo Kanu+59
- Refiloe Jane+76
- Oladipupo Martins+138
…and 18 more.
Played for an African club × English
- Alex Nimely+6
- James Keene+17
- Andre Blackman+59
- Ian Fitzpatrick+69
- Ryan Harrison+80
- Paul Wheatcroft+124
…and 1 more.
Played in 3+ of the top 5 leagues × French
- Zinedine Zidane+37
- Louis Saha+65
- Aly Cissokho+76
- Michaël Ciani+89
- Malaury Martin+109
- Luc-Christopher Matutu+166
…and 146 more.
Played in 3+ of the top 5 leagues × Played for AC Milan or Inter
- David Beckham+46
- Samuel Eto'o+67
- Niclas Füllkrug+74
- Geoffrey Kondogbia+80
- Bernardo Corradi+90
- Chedric Seedorf+166
…and 157 more.
Played in 3+ of the top 5 leagues × English
- David Beckham+6
- Eric Dier+29
- Mason Greenwood+35
- Ainsley Maitland-Niles+41
- Djed Spence+43
- Stephy Mavididi+59
Played for a South American club × French
- David Trezeguet+13
- Lucas Hernandez+19
- Gaston Curbelo+89
- Cédric Anselin+95
- Danlaba Mendy+115
- Thomas Levaux+142
…and 3 more.
Played for a South American club × Played for AC Milan or Inter
- Ronaldinho+42
- Walter Samuel+66
- Gabriel Barbosa+74
- Clarence Seedorf+80
- Zé Maria+93
- Tiago Henrique Gonçalves+166
…and 144 more.
Played for a South American club × English
- Jesse Lingard+7
- Tammy Abraham+15
- Rohan Ricketts+56
- Mark Cook+94
- Martin John+93
- Alex Oprey+130