What are the nicknames of the World Cup National teams?

Impress your fellow football/soccer fans during the big match! Now you can cheer on your favorite national soccer or football team, calling them by their famous nicknames, and actually know the meaning and background of the names.

1. Algeria, "Les Fennecs" - the national team is called "Les Fennecs," a small, nocturnal fox native to North Africa, and the national mascot of Algeria.
2. Argentina, "La Albiceleste" - means "The White and Sky Blue," referring to Argentina's famous striped uniforms.
3. Australia, "The Socceroos" – True to its roots, Australia's national team combines "soccer" and "kangaroos."
4. Belgium, "The Red Devils" - known affectionately in all three of the country's spoken languages -- Dutch, French and German -- as "The Red Devils." The name was coined after three "devilish" wins in 1906, just two years after forming.
5. Bosnia and Herzegovina, "Zmajevi" - its nickname was coined by a commentator who called the players "zmajevi" or "dragons" in 2010.
6. Brazil, "Seleção" - "The Selection" is what Brazilians call every soccer team: a "seleção. But only the national team is "The Seleção." Brazil is also known as "Canarihno" ("Little Canary") a reference to the team's bright yellow uniforms.
7. Cameroon, "The Indomitable Lions" - a nod to the country's lion-preservation efforts, in the wild the Cameroon lions or "Lions" are "indomitable."
8. Chile, "La Roja" – their nickname comes from the team's notable red uniforms.
9. Colombia, "Los Cafeteros" - translates to "one who makes or drinks coffee," and Colombians do both, and one of Colombia's biggest exports: coffee.
10. Costa Rica, "Los Ticos" - more conversational name for "Costarrincenses" or "native Costa Ricans."
11. Croatia, "Vatreni" - "The Blazers" in Croatian, a nod to both the passion of the players and their fans. Lately, the Croatian team has also been called "Bilic's Boys," a reference to the team's head coach, Slaven Bilic.
12. Ecuador, "La Tricolor" - refers to the three colors of the Ecuadorian flag: yellow, blue and red.
13. England, "The Three Lions" - refers to the country's rich history, going back to Richard the Lionheart, the King of England from 1189 to 1199. The three lions that appear on the national team's crest is also on the Royal Arms of England.
14. France, "Les Bleus" - the color dominates the French team's uniforms as well as their nickname for most teams across French sports.
15. Germany, "Die Mannschaft" - means "The Team" in German: Simple, practical and formidable.
16. Ghana, "The Black Stars" - Referring to the sole black star on Ghana's national flag, the players of the national team are stars to their country.
17. Greece, "Ethniki" - "Ethniki" or "national". The Greek team is also known as "Piratiko," after a Greek radio commentator who christened the team with the name during the opening ceremony of UEFA Euro 2004.
18. Honduras, "Los Catrachos" - "Los Catrachos" is the name for native Hondurans, derived from General Florencio Xatruch. Xatruch's men were called "xatruches," which then became "catruches".
19. Italy, "Azzurri" - "Azzurri" means "the blues." Blue was the color of House Savoy which unified Italy in 1861.
20. Ivory Coast, "Les Elephants" - The national team is named "Les Elephants" due to their part in the 19th century ivory trade.
21. Japan, "Samurai Blue" - Adorned in "blue" uniforms, the Japanese team honors the country's historical warriors, and are known as "samurais" on the pitch.
22. Mexico, "El Tri" - Mexico's nickname "El Tri" conjures up intense national pride; the nickname refers to the three colors -- red, white and green -- of the Mexican flag.
23. Netherlands, "Oranje" - refers to the color of the old Dutch royal family: House of Orange-Nassau. The team's invention of a precise method of passing to maintain ball control -- Total Football -- also earned them the nickname and Kubrickian homage of "Clockwork Orange."
24. Nigeria, "The Super Eagles" - Nigeria's nickname is rooted in classic one-upmanship. The nickname was adopted after losing to Cameroon's "The Indomitable Lions" in the 1988 Africa Cup of Nations finals.
25. Portugal, "Seleção das Quinas" - Portugal's nickname, "The Selection of the Shields," refers to the five shields and the five dots within each shield (the bezants) on the country's flag.
26. Russia, "Sbornaya" - strong and powerful when spoken, Russia's "Sbornaya" means "National Team.
27. South Korea, "Taegeuk Warriors"- The "taegeuk" refers to the symbol on South Korea's national flag, which represents a spiritual balance, similar to the yin and yang symbol. The team’s uniform has also earned them recognition as "The Reds", and fans have called themselves the "Red Devils" since 1995.
28. Spain, "La Furia Roja" - "La Roja," like other team nicknames, comes from the color of the team's uniforms, and "La Furia" describes its "direct, aggressive, spirited style" of play in the 1920s -- a "fury" on the field.
29. Switzerland, "La Nati" - short and to the point: "La Nati," means "The National Team" in French. Also known as "Schweizer Nati" in German, and "Squadra Nazionale" in Italian, ultimately all meaning the same thing to the Swiss.
30. Uruguay, "La Celeste" - "La Celeste" refers to the team's sky-blue uniforms.
31. U.S.A., "The Yanks" - the U.S. doesn't have an “official” nickname!  The team has been called "The Yanks," by some, and "The Stars and Stripes" or just "Team USA." 

#SayNoToRacism with a selfie!

In its relentless fight to eradicate racism and discrimination in football, FIFA has launched an interactive social media campaign in order to raise awareness on this important issue. YOU can help: Calling on all fans around the world to join in this fight by uploading “selfies”. Anyone can participate: simply post a picture of yourself on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram by 4 July, when the FIFA Anti-Discrimination Days begin, holding a banner reading #SayNoToRacism. Make sure both the post and the picture display the #SayNoToRacism hashtag.  - http://www.fifa.com

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