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Across
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Opening puzzle…
Extra Leon Infantino · Saturday, 3 January 2026 · Ahhhh!
January 2026
Saturday,
3 January 2026
0:00
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Across
1.
Month-long reason the office is suddenly full of Argentina experts (5,3)
8.
Where the trophy goes at the final whistle, along with your sleep schedule (2)
10.
Wordle's favourite opening guess, and what Messi said to Barcelona (5)
11.
Number 10 who finally lifted 1-Across in Qatar, cape and all (5)
13.
Where buses go to bed (5)
14.
Word that begins every stand-up set and every reply to 'what happened next?' (2)
15.
State whose cup is the Stanley, on a very short postcard (2)
16.
Summit followed by the whole alphabet, in brief: a yellow November gem (5)
18.
Every i needs one; every .com has one (3)
21.
Egyptian sun god who never once called in sick (2)
22.
What Xavi did a hundred times a match and what your parents want you to do in March (4)
25.
Sunday morning fixture with better attendance than the reserves (4)
29.
Tree that gives you acorns and unaffordable furniture (3)
30.
Roadside lodging where the pool is always 'closed for maintenance' (5)
32.
Pacino, Gore, or the foil around your samosa, briefly (2)
34.
Wild cat, or the body spray that did the heavy lifting for teenage boys (4)
36.
Sodium, to a chemist; 'nah', to a teenager (2)
37.
What a striker is left kicking after the stepover goes wrong (3)
39.
___ time: thirty minutes nobody's legs asked for (5)
42.
What every commentator calls a well-weighted through-ball (4)
44.
Use, usually when there is none of it (5)
45.
Gianni who runs FIFA and expanded 1-Across to 48 teams so nobody gets left out, except your team (9)
Down
1.
Crossed the Yamuna the hard way, or got through the terms and conditions (5)
2.
Poem of praise, to a Grecian urn or a plate of pav bhaji (3)
3.
Tear, or what the internet says when a website stops loading (3)
4.
Mexican club and city that is a lion with its accent knocked off (4)
5.
What calls, in the airport shop where perfume is somehow cheaper (4)
6.
Sound of a footballer buying time in a post-match interview (2)
7.
Coin you will need for tacos in Mexico City during 1-Across (4)
8.
The home side, to the home side (2)
9.
Pie that arrives cold if the delivery guy stops to watch the penalties (5)
12.
Standard operating procedure, briefly, or a bribe to keep someone quiet (3)
17.
Gunners who went a whole league season unbeaten and have mentioned it daily since 2004 (7)
19.
Surgery, briefly, or the original poster of a thread (2)
20.
The Way, in Chinese philosophy and in a Winnie-the-Pooh book (3)
23.
Salt in Madrid, or the guy who runs the pizzeria (3)
24.
Where a pundit says the shot 'went into orbit'; also a sports broadcaster (3)
25.
This year, on a Roman scoreboard: the one when 1-Across came to North America (6)
26.
Head of the alphabet meeting its roundest letter (2)
27.
Street, or saint, on a very short sign (2)
28.
Filter coffee, in the Tamil that pours it from a height (5)
31.
Note after sol, or the Galaxy's home in MLS (2)
33.
Big cat on Chelsea's crest and Sri Lanka's flag (4)
35.
Tidy, or how a Scotch is served with no ice and no argument (4)
38.
The one person 30,000 people agree has never watched football (3)
40.
What the fans bring back from Rio, along with a cough (3)
41.
Host of the 2014 final and the 2016 Olympics, or Ferdinand of Manchester United (3)
43.
Mum, or Yo-Yo the cellist (2)