Soccer Crossword Puzzle Printable

Print a criss-cross soccer crossword of field, position, skill, rule and gear words, with its answer key.

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Soccer Crossword

Read each clue and write the answer in the squares that start at its number, one letter in each square.

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Answer key: Soccer Crossword

1OFFSI2DE3WRH4CIIL5FB6SAVEOBTA7CULLT8GOALKEE9PE10RSREENNFE11HEADERRLR12NETEYE

Across 1 OFFSIDE · 6 SAVE · 8 GOALKEEPER · 11 HEADER · 12 NET

Down 2 DRIBBLE · 3 WHISTLE · 4 CLEATS · 5 FOUL · 7 CORNER · 9 PENALTY · 10 REFEREE

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All 127 clues

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The Field 20

  • Arc Curved line at the top of the 18-yard zone, nicknamed the D
  • Bench Seat at the side for those who are not on the field
  • Box Nickname for the lined zone that reaches 18 yards out from each goal
  • Center The ___ dot, in the exact middle of the field, is where play begins
  • Circle Ring with a 10-yard radius drawn around the middle dot of the field
  • Crossbar Top of a goal frame, 8 feet above the ground
  • Eight Width of a goal in yards, and its height in feet
  • Flag A small one on a pole stands where two edges of the field meet
  • Grass Green plant that covers most fields
  • Halfway ___ line: it divides the field in two
  • Net Mesh at the back of a goal that catches the ball
  • Pitch Word for a soccer field in Britain and Australia
  • Post Upright side of a goal; the two stand 8 yards apart
  • Rectangle Shape of the field
  • Sideline Side boundary of a playing field in many sports
  • Spot The dot 12 yards in front of each goal
  • Stadium Venue where big games are held
  • Touchline Long boundary down each side of the field
  • Turf Playing surface, real or artificial
  • Woodwork Nickname for the frame of a goal

Players and Positions 23

  • Captain Player who joins the official for the coin toss before the start
  • Coach Trainer or instructor of a team
  • Defender Player whose main job is to stop the other team from scoring
  • Eleven Players on the field for each team at the start
  • Formation A team's shape on the field, such as 4-4-2
  • Forward Player in the line that plays farthest up the field
  • Fullback Back who guards the left or right side
  • Goalie Nickname for the keeper
  • Goalkeeper Player who is free to catch the ball inside the 18-yard zone
  • Linesman Another name for the assistant who patrols one long edge of the field
  • Manager Boss who selects the team and chooses its tactics
  • Midfielder Player who works behind the attackers and in front of the backs
  • Opponent Someone who plays against you
  • Playmaker Player who leads the attack and creates chances to score
  • Referee Official in charge of a game, who has the last word
  • Reserve Spare player, not in the starting side
  • Squad All the players a team can choose from
  • Striker Attacker whose main job is to score
  • Substitute Fresh player sent on in exchange for a tired or injured one
  • Supporter Devoted follower of one side
  • Sweeper Player behind the back line who collects the ball when a rival breaks through
  • Teammate Player on your own side
  • Winger Attacking player who stays on the far left or far right

Skills and Moves 29

  • Assist The last pass before a goal is scored
  • Backheel Ball knocked behind you with the back part of the foot
  • Bicycle ___ kick: overhead shot made with both feet off the ground
  • Brace What a player has after scoring twice in one game
  • Chip Kick that lifts the ball steeply to clear a player
  • Clearance Getting the ball out of danger near your goal with one big kick
  • Cross Long pass from the side of the field to the front of the goal
  • Curl Spin that makes a shot bend in the air
  • Dribble Move past rivals alone, nudging the ball along as you go
  • Equalizer It brings the trailing side back to even
  • Feint Fake move that sends a rival the wrong way
  • Hat trick Feat of scoring three times in one game
  • Header Using your head, not your foot, to send the ball on
  • Intercept Cut off a pass meant for someone else
  • Juggle Keep the ball in the air with feet, knees and head
  • Lob High kick that loops the ball over a player's head
  • Mark Stay close to one rival so that the ball cannot reach them
  • Nutmeg Pushing the ball between a rival's legs
  • One-two Quick pair of passes: you give it and get it straight back
  • Overlap Dash by a second attacker past the one on the ball and the rival shadowing them
  • Possession Control of the ball; the side that has it can attack
  • Punt A keeper's long kick upfield, struck before the ball lands
  • Save Catch or turn aside a shot at goal
  • Stepover Trick, also called the scissors, that fakes a move in one direction
  • Tackle Take the ball from a rival
  • Toe ___ poke: jab at the ball with the tip of the foot
  • Touch First ___: how a player controls the ball as it arrives
  • Trap Skill of taming a ball that arrives through the air
  • Volley Kick of a ball that is still in the air

Rules and Restarts 28

  • Advantage Call that lets play go on when stopping it would help the side that broke the rules
  • Booking A caution: the official writes the player's name in a notebook
  • Corner Kick from the angle of the field after a team puts the ball out behind the goal it defends
  • Dissent Showing by word or action that you reject the official's ruling
  • Draw Game that ends with the scores level
  • Drop ___ ball: the official lets the ball fall to the ground to get play going again
  • Extra time Added play used to settle a game that cannot end tied
  • Foul Unfair act, such as a trip or a push
  • Halftime Rest of about 15 minutes between the two periods
  • Handball Offense of playing the ball with a hand or an arm
  • Indirect Not direct: said of a free kick given for a less serious offense
  • Kickoff It opens each period of play and follows every goal, from the middle dot
  • Laws The rules of soccer are officially the ___ of the Game
  • Ninety Minutes in a full adult game, before any added time
  • Offside Ahead of the ball and the second-last rival when the pass is played
  • Onside Not too far up the field when the pass is played
  • Own goal Ball put past your keeper by a player of your side
  • Penalty Kick from 12 yards, given when a team breaks the rules near the goal it defends
  • Red Color of the card that sends a player off
  • Restart Any way that play begins again after a stop
  • Seventeen Number of main rules in the rulebook of soccer
  • Shootout Tiebreaker of kicks from 12 yards, five for each team to begin
  • Stoppage ___ time: minutes added to a half for delays
  • Ten Yards that rivals must stand back from a free kick
  • Throw-in It brings the ball back from the side of the field, with both hands from behind the head
  • VAR Three letters for the video official who can ask for a second look
  • Wall Row of players standing side by side to block a kick at goal
  • Yellow Color shown to a player as a warning

Gear and Match Day 27

  • Armband Band on the sleeve worn by the team's leader
  • Away Said of a game that is not on your home ground
  • Bib Loose colored vest that tells the sides apart in practice
  • Bladder Air-filled inner bag of a ball
  • Boots Soccer shoes, to players who are not North American
  • Cleats What North Americans call soccer shoes
  • Derby Game between two rivals from the same town
  • Drill Practice exercise done over and over
  • Final Last game of a knockout contest
  • Fixture British word for a game on the schedule
  • Football What most of the world calls soccer
  • Friendly Game with little or nothing at stake
  • Futsal Indoor five-a-side cousin of soccer, played with a smaller ball
  • Jersey Team top that carries a player's number
  • Kit Soccer word for a team's uniform
  • League Group of teams that all play one another over a season
  • Leather What a ball's outside was long made of
  • Match Soccer word for a game
  • Nil Nothing; zero, as in a score of two-___
  • Panel One of the pieces of a ball's outside; the well-known modern design has 32
  • Shin guards Hard pads that protect the front of the lower legs
  • Shorts Part of the uniform worn between the waist and the knees
  • Socks Long ones cover a player's leg pads
  • Sphere What geometry calls the form of a soccer ball
  • Tournament Many games played to decide a champion
  • Trophy Statuette, cup or shield awarded to the winning side
  • Whistle A blast on it stops the game

How this list was compiled: Clues written for this site about the game, in five sets: the field, players and positions, skills and moves, rules and restarts, gear and match day. Rules and figures follow the full-size game as English Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org, CC BY-SA 4.0) gives them from the Laws of the Game; word meanings were checked in Wiktionary (en.wiktionary.org), in October 2026. No league, club, tournament or player is named, and no clue was copied from a published puzzle. Licence: own work

How it works

This soccer crossword puzzle, printable on Letter or A4, is a vocabulary crossword about the game itself. The first puzzle has 12 easy words, among them Goalkeeper, Corner, Offside, Header and Penalty.

Read the full guide

Five sets after the easy one

The Field has Touchline, Crossbar and Woodwork. Players and Positions has Sweeper, Winger and Playmaker. Skills and Moves has Nutmeg, Volley and Stepover. Rules and Restarts has Handball, Advantage and Shootout. Gear and Match Day has Armband, Derby and Futsal.

The Laws behind the clues

Rule clues follow the full-size game: eleven players a side, a goal 8 yards wide and 8 feet high, a penalty mark 12 yards out and rivals 10 yards back at a free kick.

  • Hand out Rules and Restarts before a first game, so that Offside, Throw-in and Corner are not new words on game day.

Questions and answers

Is the soccer crossword free to print with an answer key?

Yes, and no account is needed. The answer key prints last, on a sheet of its own, so the puzzle goes to the players and the key stays with you.

What grade is the soccer crossword puzzle for?

Easy Soccer Words suits grades 2 to 4, with answers such as Net, Foul and Save. The five themed sets suit grades 4 and up. These bands are our judgment, not a published standard.

What is offside in soccer?

A player is in an offside position when in the other team's half and closer to its goal line than the ball is and than the second-to-last opponent is. Offside and Onside are both answers in Rules and Restarts.

How many players are on a soccer team?

Eleven a side are on the field at the start, one of them the goalkeeper. Eleven is an answer in Players and Positions, beside Squad, Substitute and Reserve for those who wait.

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