Watching national soccer teams in competitions such as the FIFA World Cup, Copa America, CONCACAF Gold Cup or the UEFA European Championships is always a big thrill. These tournaments are watched from around the globe, with millions of fans tuning in to cheer on their home teams or favorite national soccer clubs. It is also a good opportunity to watch youngsters break through the ranks and capture the imagination of the soccer world on the biggest stage possible.
But how well do you know the teams – do you know how they are called locally or their nicknames?
There are lots of intriguing nicknames attributed to soccer teams by their fans, some of which you may already be familiar with such as the Stars and Stripes, Three Lions, or Les Bleus. But let’s delve into more, as there are some real gems out there.
Copa America Nations
The majority of national soccer team nicknames refer to the team colors in one way or another. This is especially true for South American nations, but a few may surprise you.
| Argentina | La Albiceleste (The White and Sky Blues) |
| Bolivia | La Verde (The Green) |
| Brazil | Seleção, Canarinho (The Selection, Little Canary) |
| Chile | La Roja (The Red One) |
| Colombia | Los Cafeteros (The Coffee Growers) |
| Ecuador | La Tricolor (The Tricolor) |
| Paraguay | La Albirroja (The White and Red) |
| Peru | La Blanquirroja (The White and Red) |
| Uruguay | La Celeste (The Sky Blue) |
| Venezuela | La Vinotinto (The Burgundy) |
| Canada | The Canucks, Les Rouges (The Reds) |
| Costa Rica | Los Ticos (The Ticos) |
| Jamaica | The Reggae Boyz |
| Mexico | El Tri (The Tricolor) |
| Panama | Los Canaleros (The Canal Men) |
| United States | The Stars and Stripes, Team USA, USMNT |
The Copa America includes teams from the CONMEBOL (South American) and CONCACAF (Central and North America and the Caribbean). Originally, it was exclusively for the CONMEBOL nations, and in the 90s it opened to include nations from the CONCACAF. A few teams from the AFC (Asian Soccer Federation) have also featured in the competition, but AFC places were never permanently added to the Copa America.
The 10 CONMEBOL nations all receive automatic qualification to the Copa America, while the CONCACAF teams have to play in qualifiers. This is not really a problem for Team USA or the Canucks, as they face much weaker opposition in the qualifiers such as Grenada, Cuba, Bermuda, Nicaragua, and various other Central American or Caribbean teams.
UEFA European Championship Nations
Again, here we find the nicknames for a lot of nations such as France, the Netherlands, and Italy, which have some kind of reference to the colors they play in.
| Albania | The Eagles |
| Austria | Burschen (The Boys) |
| Belgium | Red Devils |
| Croatia | Vatreni (The Blazers) |
| Czech Republic | Lokomotiva (The Locomotive) |
| Denmark | De Rød-Hvide (The Red and Whites) |
| England | The Three Lions |
| France | Les Bleus (The Blues) |
| Georgia | Jvarosnebi (Crusaders) |
| Germany | Die Mannschaft (The Team) |
| Hungary | Nemzeti Tizenegy, Magyarok (The National Eleven, Magyars) |
| Italy | Gli Azzurri (The Blues) |
| Netherlands | Oranje (The Orange) |
| Poland | Biało-czerwoni (The White and Reds) |
| Portugal | Seleção (The Selection) |
| Romania | Tricolorii (The Tricolors) |
| Scotland | Tartan Army |
| Serbia | Orlovi (The Eagles) |
| Slovakia | Repre (The Representative Team) |
| Slovenia | Fantje (The Boys) |
| Spain | La Furia Roja (The Red Fury) |
| Switzerland | Nati (The National Team) |
| Turkey | Ay-Yıldızlılar (The Crescent-Stars) |
| Ukraine | Zbіrna (The National Team) |
Names such as La Furia Roja, the Tartan Army, or Jvarosnebi feel a lot more powerful, and their supporters probably have some fantastic chants. But there are so many variants of Tricolor, The Team or National Team, or simply the team colors.
It is fair to say that qualifying for the UEFA European Championship is far more challenging than that of Copa America. There are over 50 UEFA nations in total, and they are drawn into 10 groups (7 groups of 5 and 3 groups of 6). The top two teams in each group (20) qualify directly for the UEFA European Championship, and then there is a playoffs between the next 12 best teams based on the Nations League Overall Rankings.
The UEFA Nations League is another competition entirely, but a good run in that competition can give would-be qualifiers a chance to make the European Championships. The next 12 teams participate in a playoff competition, and finally, 3 teams can make the European Championship. The final place is given to the host of the competition. However, when there are joint hosts, then the format slightly varies.
More UEFA, and AFC/OFC
There are even more team nicknames to explore if we include the AFC and OFC soccer federations. And in the UEFA nicknames table above, we barely scratched the surface. Most of the nicknames are quite similar, relating to team colors, but some caught our eye for their originality. Here are our favorite picks of the bunch.
| Australia | Socceroos |
| Bangladesh | The Bengal Tigers |
| China | The Dragon's Team |
| Finland | Huuhkajat (The Eagle Owls) |
| Gibraltar | Team 54 |
| Ireland | The Boys in Green |
| Japan | Samurai Blue |
| Jordan | Al-Nashama (The Brave Gentlemen) |
| Latvia | 11 Wolves |
| Lebanon | The Cedars |
| Malta | Knights of Malta |
| Philippines | The Azkals (Street Dogs) |
| San Marino | La Serenissima (The Most Serene) |
| South Korea | Taegeuk Warriors |
| Thailand | The War Elephants |
| Wales | Dragons |
| Yemen | Al-Yemen A'Sa'eed (The Happy Yemen) |
Some of these teams have appeared in FIFA World Cups, arguably the most prestigious soccer competition in the world. Then, there are others such as San Marino or Gibraltar which are not fully professional, yet you can catch them playing at the Euro qualifiers or in occasional international friendlies.
