JAKARTA - The World Cup is the grandest stage of international football where people, arts and cultures from all over the world come together. It's a month-long carnival where the best soccer nations compete for the top prize in soccer.
Almost every football team has a nickname that gives insight into their distinct roots or characteristics. There is usually a story behind each of these monikers that also resonates well with fans in general. This nickname will be used by commentators and journalists.
In fact, Brazil, the most successful country in World Cup history, has around six nicknames. Argentina is known as La Albiceleste because of the colors of its flag and jersey. Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal are known as The Navigators due to their rich naval history while England are known as The Three Lions.
In the following, VOI reviews the interesting names of the 32 teams that will travel to Qatar in November.
Australia - Socceroos
The term 'Socceroos' was coined by Sydney-based journalist Tony Horstead who wanted to highlight Australia's iconic kangaroo. The words soccer and kangaroo are combined into a portmanteau word as soccer-roo.
CAAARRRRRRRNNNNN AUSTRRRAAALIA!! #GiveIt100 #AllForTheSocceros pic.twitter.com/xWoW0RDdly
— Socceroos (@Socceroos) June 13, 2022
Iran - Team Melli
Team Melli in Persian means "National Team". There are several other nicknames as well such as Shiran e Iran which means "Iranian Lion", Shirdelan which means "Lion's Heart" and "Prince of Persia".
Japan - Samurai Blue
The Japanese team earned the nickname Samurai Blue which refers to their historical Samurai background.
Qatar - The Maroon
Qatar are nicknamed The Maroon, after the color of their home jersey.
Saudi Arabia - Al Akhdar
Saudi Arabia has several nicknames, the most popular of which is Al-Akhdar which means "The Green". They are also known as as-suqur al-akhdar which translates to "Green Eagle". The third nickname is as-suqur al-arabiyyah, "Arabic Eagle".
South Korea - Taegeuk Warriors
Fans often call the South Korean team the Reds, their main uniform color. They are also known as the Taegeuk Warriors and Lions of Asia. Taegeuk is the symbol found on the South Korean flag.
Cameroon - Les Lions Indomptables
The Cameroonian team is called Les Lions Indomptables which means the Immovable Lion.
Ghana - Black Stars
Ghana is known as the Black Stars. They are so named after the black star in the center of the Ghana flag.
Ghana https://t.co/6d4X55qSqO pic.twitter.com/WBIiSzrt2c
— Black Stars (@GhanaBlackstars) June 16, 2022
Morocco - The Atlas Lions
Morocco, a six-time World Cup participant, are nicknamed The Atlas Lions after their official national animal the Barbary lion also called the Atlas lion. The animal is now extinct but was once found in Morocco.
Senegal - Lions of Teranga
Teranaga is a word absorbed into Senegalese culture which loosely means good hospitality. Therefore this team is known as the Teranga Lions.
Tunisia - Lions of Carthage
Carthage is an important commune in Tunisia and was also the center of ancient civilizations. Meanwhile, the eagle has its place in the Tunisian football federation logo. This team is known as the Eagles of Carthage.
Canada - The Reds
The Canadian football team is nicknamed the Reds according to the color of their home jersey. They are also known as Maple Leafes in reference to their country's flag, which has maple leaves inside.
Honduras away, eh? #CANMNT #CNL #WeCAN pic.twitter.com/2hfMmPtsPB
— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) June 12, 2022
Costa Rica - Los Ticos
Costa Ricans are often called Ticos because of their unique way of pronouncing small words in Spanish. So, they have the nickname The Ticos. They are also known as The Selection (La Sele) and The Tricolor (La Tricolour).
Mexico - El Tri
The Mexican team is known as El Tri which means The Tricolor according to the three dominant colors of their national flag.
Argentina - La Albiceleste
The stripes on their jerseys, and on the Argentine flag are sky blue and white. Hence they are known as La Albiceleste.
Brazil - Seleção
Selecao is a fairly common term in Portuguese which means the chosen player. Brazilians call every football team a 'selecao'. However, the national team is distinguished and is known as 'The Selecao'.
Ecuador - La Tri
Ecuador is also nicknamed La Tri and La Tricolor because of their tricolor national flag.
Uruguay - La Celeste
Uruguay are nicknamed La Celeste which means Sky Blue, referring to the color of their jersey.
¡𝗨𝗥𝗨𝗚𝗨𝗔𝗬 !#ElEquipoQueNosUne pic.twitter.com/dBXeGEJgIs
— Selección Uruguaya (@Uruguay) June 11, 2022
Belgium - Die Roten Teufel
The Belgian squad is known as Die Roten Teufel which means Red Devils. It was linked to the national team by former manager Pierre Walkkiers who was inspired by the colors of their jersey in 1906.
Croatia - Kockasti
Luka Modric et al are known by the nickname Kockasti which means boxes according to the pattern of their country's flag.
Denmark - Da Rod-Hvide
De Rød-Hvide means The Red and Whites in Danish. This is inspired by the colors of their main kit.
England - Three Lions
The English Football Association has three lions on their logo, which is why the English team is known as the Three Lions.
France - Les Blues
The French team is known as Les Blues because of the blue color of their jersey.
Germany - Nationalelf
The German national football team is nicknamed Nationalelf which means National Eleven. They are also known as DFB Eleven. Die Mannschaft also means Team.
Dutch - Orange
The Dutch team is known as the Oranje after the colors of their home jersey and the logo of the KNVB, the country's governing body for football.
Poland - Biało-czerwoni
The nickname of the Polish national team is a bit difficult to pronounce, Biało-czerwoni in Polish. In English it means White and Red.
Portugal - Os Navegadores
Portugal has a rich history of famous navigators who crossed the oceans in search of new countries. Therefore the national team is known as Os Navegadores which means The Navigator.
Serbian - Orlovi
The Serbian team is known as Orlovi which means The Eagles in reference to their white double-headed eagle, Serbia's national symbol.
Spain - La Roja
The Spanish national team is known as La Roja which means The Red. They are also known as La Furia Roja which means The Red Fury.
Tienes is alarma activada? Desde este , , a las :𝟬𝟬 ...🎟️ ¡PUEDES CONSEGUIR TUS E͟N͟T͟R͟A͟D͟A͟S͟ DE LA @SEFUTBOL PARA LA @FIFAWorldCup! ️ℹ️ https://t.co/uglPiKwVzK#VamosEspaña pic.twitter.com/NTIhC6JkdC
— Selección Española de Fútbol (@SEFutbol) July 4, 2022
Switzerland - Rossocrociati
The Swiss football team is known as Rossocrociati which means Red Cross. They are also known as Nati which means national team in Switzerland.
Wales - The Dragons
Wales are nicknamed The Dragons due to the presence of fire-breathing dragons on their national flag.
United States of America - Stars and Stripes
The United States has the nickname Stars and Stripes, which was inspired by their national flag and the striped logo of the United States Football Federation. They are also known as The Yanks.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
