Which countries come up most in The Connection
The verified deck covers 50 countries. England appears most by a distance, but a few other nations come up far more often than their size suggests.
The countries with the most players
The table shows how many different players in our deck are linked to each country, with some of the players to think of first.
| Country | Players | Think of |
|---|---|---|
| England | 67 | Andros Townsend, Matthew Upson, Scott Carson, Scott Parker |
| France | 15 | Louis Saha, Nicolas Anelka, Kurt Zouma, Samir Nasri |
| Republic of Ireland | 15 | Shay Given, Kevin Kilbane, Damien Duff, Richard Dunne |
| Belgium | 10 | Romelu Lukaku, Christian Benteke, Youri Tielemans, Kevin De Bruyne |
| Wales | 10 | Craig Bellamy, Wayne Hennessey, Daniel James, Robbie Savage |
| Spain | 8 | Cesc Fàbregas, Juan Mata, Fernando Torres, Marc Cucurella |
| Netherlands | 8 | Patrick van Aanholt, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Nathan Aké, Boudewijn Zenden |
| Scotland | 8 | Charlie Adam, Steven Fletcher, Robert Snodgrass, Darren Fletcher |
| Brazil | 7 | Richarlison, Willian, Kenedy, Philippe Coutinho |
| Nigeria | 7 | Alex Iwobi, Kanu, Victor Moses, Kelechi Iheanacho |
England dominates
With 67 players, England accounts for nearly three in ten players in the deck. When the country is England, look for a well-travelled English player who fits both clubs, such as Crouch, Heskey, Milner, Barry or Darren Bent.
The Republic of Ireland punches above its weight
The Republic of Ireland shares second place with France on 15 players each. Many Irish internationals made long Premier League careers at clubs outside the traditional top six. Damien Duff alone links Blackburn Rovers, Chelsea, Newcastle United and Fulham, and Robbie Brady and James McClean connect a string of clubs including Hull City, Norwich City, Burnley, Sunderland, West Bromwich Albion and Stoke City.
Scotland and Wales
Wales has 10 players in the deck and Scotland has eight. Scottish answers often come from mid-table clubs: Charlie Adam links Blackpool, Liverpool and Stoke City, and Robert Snodgrass links Norwich City, Hull City and West Ham United. For Wales, start with Craig Bellamy and Gareth Bale.
Small nations, single answers
Many countries in the deck are linked to only one or two players. Togo means Emmanuel Adebayor and Egypt means Mohamed Salah. Iceland is either Gylfi Sigurdsson or Eiður Guðjohnsen, and Algeria is either Riyad Mahrez or Islam Slimani. When one of those countries appears, the round is usually won by whoever names that player first.
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