You know by now all of the 32 teams participating in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which includes the United States after the team missed the last tournament.
But do you know each of those team’s nicknames?
Maybe you didn’t even know that these national teams have nicknames to begin with. But they do, just like other sports franchises around the world, and many of them have intriguing backstories, with some matching the uniforms worn by the teams.
So we’ve collected each of those nicknames to present to you as we get set for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to begin:
1
Ecuador
They’re known as La Tri, as in “the three” colors on the country’s flag.
2
Netherlands
They’re called the Oranje, which is the color the team wears and originates from the Dutch royal family, which began with William of Orange.
3
Qatar
The Annabi, which translates to maroon.
4
Senegal
The Lions of Teranga is the nickname. Here’s the origin story, via Sporting News:
5
England
They’re the Three Lions, which is part of the logo used on the Royal Arms.
6
Iran
Team Melli translates to “national team” in Persian.
7
United States
They’re the Stars and Stripes. As in, the American flag.
8
Wales
They’re known as The Dragons. A dragon appears on the Welsh flag.
9
Argentina
La Albiceleste translates to white and light blue, which happen to be the colors on Argentina’s flag and uniforms.
10
Mexico
They’re El Tri, as in the Tricolor, or the three colors which are on the Mexican flag.
11
Poland
They’re the Bialo-Czerwoni, or “the White and Reds,” the colors of the Polish flag. They’ve also been called “Orly,” or eagles.
12
Saudi Arabia
They’re Al-Suqour Al-Akhdhar: The Green Falcons.
13
Australia
They’re the Socceroos. Soccer + Kangaroos = Socceroos!
14
Denmark
Another team named after uniform and flag colors: De Rod-Hvide is the “Red and Whites.”
15
France
Les Bleus, which means the Blues, the color the team wears.
16
Tunisia
The Carthage Eagles is their name.
17
Costa Rica
They’re Los Ticos, which is an idiom for Costa Rican natives.
18
Germany
Their nickname has been Die Mannschaft, which translates to “the team.” But they dropped it recently. From Reuters:
Germany on Thursday decided to drop the name “die Mannschaft” (the team) for its men’s national soccer team, saying it may be a recognisable term abroad but was viewed critically at home. …
Soccer officials, including Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke, have said it was not respectful towards other national teams and was too arrogant a term.
19
Japan
They’re the Samurai Blue, the latter being the color worn by the team.
20
Spain
La Roja or “the red” worn by the team.
21
Belgium
De Rode Duivels, or the “Red Devils,” with the team wearing the color.
22
Canada
It’s Les Rouges or the Reds for their uniform color.
23
Croatia
They’re known as The Vatreni, or the “Blazers” or “Fiery Ones.”
24
Morocco
Lions de l’Atlas, or the Atlas Lions, are their nickname.
25
Brazil
They’re the Selecao, which means “the National Team.”
26
Cameroon
They’re the Indomitable Lions. Why the awesome adjective? From The Sun:
In 1972, the country’s national team nickname was changed as the word indomitable was added to the beginning of their name.
By definition, indomitable means “impossible to subdue or defeat” and president Ahmadou Ahidjo decided to add this to the beginning of their nickname in order to make the team more recognisable and impressive.
27
Serbia
They’re Orlovi, “the Eagles.”
28
Switzerland
La Nati means “National Team.”
29
Ghana
They’re the Black Stars, which happens to be on the Ghanaian flag
30
Portugal
Selecao, which is the national team.
31
South Korea
They’re the Taegeuk Warriors. The Taegeuk is the symbol in the middle of the South Korean flag. Here’s a great explanation of its meaning:
The white background represents brightness, purity, and peace, qualities that are highly valued by the people. The taegeuk, which has long been a commonly used motif, denotes the harmony between the negative cosmic forces (yin : blue portion) and the positive cosmic forces (yang : red portion), depicting the truth of nature that all things are created and evolve through the interaction of yin and yang. The four black trigrams are specific representations of the movement and harmony of these forces. In detail, the geon symbolizes the sky, the gon the earth, the gam water, and the ri fire. Together, they create harmony around the taegeuk mark.
32
Uruguay
They’re La Celeste, or the Sky Blue of their uniforms. I’ve also seen “Charruas,” which are the name for the people of Uruguay.
