Winner of the 2026 World Cup

Latest answer — August 23, 2026

1 Across

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Clue explained

Spain is the country identified as the winner of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The clue uses the country name rather than the team’s nickname or a player’s name.

Clue type:
Definition
Spain’s national football team celebrating a World Cup win

LA Times Mini Crossword

This clue's Sunday, August 23, 2026 appearance

Tap a square to reveal a letter.

Or reveal one clue at a time with the Hint and Answer buttons below.

Across

  1. 1Winner of the 2026 World Cup
  2. 6Prefix with violet
  3. 7Cougars on sneakers
  4. 8Some JFK guesses
  5. 9"A Beautiful Mind" director Howard

Down

  1. 1Natural leader?
  2. 2God of the underworld
  3. 3In Hinduism, one's innermost essence
  4. 4401(k) relatives
  5. 5"Stillmatic" rapper

Crossword clues, hints, and answers

Across

  1. 1. Winner of the 2026 World Cup — Answer: SPAIN. Hint: Think of the nation that claimed the championship in the specified tournament year. 🏆
  2. 6. Prefix with violet — Answer: ULTRA. Hint: This prefix points beyond the visible violet end of the spectrum. 🌈
  3. 7. Cougars on sneakers — Answer: PUMAS. Hint: These wild cats also appear as a sporty shoe logo 👟
  4. 8. Some JFK guesses — Answer: ETAS. Hint: They predict when a flight may touch down ✈️
  5. 9. "A Beautiful Mind" director Howard — Answer: RON. Hint: This filmmaker helmed a biographical drama about a mathematical genius 🎬

Down

  1. 1. Natural leader? — Answer: SUPER. Hint: A comic-book prefix can turn an ordinary leader into an extraordinary one 🦸
  2. 2. God of the underworld — Answer: PLUTO. Hint: This mythic ruler shares a name with a distant dwarf planet 🪐
  3. 3. In Hinduism, one's innermost essence — Answer: ATMAN. Hint: In Hindu philosophy, this refers to the true inner self 🧘
  4. 4. 401(k) relatives — Answer: IRAS. Hint: These retirement accounts offer another route to long-term savings 💰
  5. 5. "Stillmatic" rapper — Answer: NAS. Hint: This hip-hop artist is known for sharp storytelling and a classic debut 🎤

The answer to “Winner of the 2026 World Cup” in the LA Times Mini crossword is SPAIN — a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the LA Times Mini crossword on August 23, 2026 at 1-Across. Below you'll find why that fill fits, every other answer we've recorded for this clue, and links into the puzzle it came from.

“Winner of the 2026 World Cup” answer

SPAIN (5 letters)

Use the reveal tiles above to uncover the solution one letter at a time if you'd rather nudge yourself toward it than see the whole word at once. Prefer the full answer straight away? It's SPAIN.

What does SPAIN mean?

Reading the plain dictionary sense of SPAIN is often the fastest way to see why it answers this clue.

(noun)

  • a country in south-western Europe, occupying the greater part of the Iberian peninsula; population 46,100,000 (estimated 2015); official language, Spanish (also Catalan, Galician, Basque); capital, Madrid

When else has “Winner of the 2026 World Cup” appeared?

LA Times Mini reuses clues across dates, sometimes with a different answer depending on the grid. Here's where this exact clue has shown up, and what the answer was each time — handy when you're checking whether today's fill is the only one.

August 23, 2026 (most recent) → SPAIN. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Winner of the 2026 World Cup”?

The answer is SPAIN, a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the LA Times Mini crossword on August 23, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Winner of the 2026 World Cup”?

5 letters: SPAIN.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the LA Times Mini crossword on August 23, 2026, at 1-Across.

Can “Winner of the 2026 World Cup” have a different answer?

Yes — LA Times Mini sometimes reuses a clue with a different solution to fit the grid. The answers we've recorded for each date it appeared are listed above when available.

Where can I find the rest of today's LA Times Mini answers?

Every clue and answer from that day's puzzle is linked above, and the full grid is on the LA Times Mini answers page.

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