Due to World Cup coverage, I am seeing a lot of nicknames being used when talking about the various national soccer teams.
I would like to learn more about these. Can you guys list your national team and some of their nicknames?
I’m struggling to think of any other ones than these:
Italy - Azzuri
Nigeria - Super Eagles
Cameroon - The Indomitable Lions
Australia - Socceroos
New Zealand - The All Whites (and I only found that out today)
My own country (Scotland) doesn’t have one, but the fans who go to games are called The Tartan Army.
Here’s the complete list.
Huh. That says we’re called The Tartan Terriers. I’ve never heard or read that being used.
About as common as the Three Lions for England then?
I think, apart from maybe a few such as those Baron Greenback lists, these nicknames are used more by commentators and journalists than fans. It just allows them a bit more variety than saying “Italy” or whatever all the time. You hear these nicknames more now simply because there is more coverage. But in real life the teams are almost always referred to simply by the name of the country.
Without clicking Tapioca Dextrin’s link, I can think of L’Orange (Netherlands) and Bafana bafana (South Africa).
Hold it - do you really think The Netherlands would adopt a French moniker for its team? Oranje, please!
Or Käsköpp.
One stupid thing about that list on wiki: it includes “la selección” for Spain, but that’s just a Spanish word meaning “the national team” for team sports. Unless context makes it clear which one you’re talking about, it means as much the Red Fury as it means Canada’s National Hockey Team. Even when context makes it clear it’s meant to be the Spanish/Argentinian/Pick-another-Spanish-speaking-country’s team, it can mean for any sport.
They also didn’t include Germany in the list. The team is usually just called “Die Elf” or “Die Nationalelf”. The English probably have a bunch of memorable and R-Rated monikers for the German team also.
Well, see, FIFA is headquartered in Switzerland, they speak French in Switzerland, and… nah, I got nothin’.
I think I was just listening to coverage of the French meltdown when I wrote that.
Yeah, ditto for the nickname they give for Israel – “Hanivheret” - “the selected.” Um, no – it’s exactly the same etimology as the Spanish “la selección” mentioned above; it just means “the national team,” regardless of the literal interpretation of the words. The Botswanian national team would be called “Nivheret Botswana.”
And nobody ever calls the Israel team “the Blue Whites.” At least not unsarcastically…
Mostly we just call them “awful, chokers and overpaid”
ETA: A good one that hasn’t been mentioned is the Ivory Coast team; known as “The Elephants.”
What a coïncidence, that’s what we call our dutch team after the tournament :D, Also believe thats th official name under which the English are registered at FIFA;)
The way they were stomping on Brazilian legs yesterday, I can see where they got that name. 
In fairness, the way most of the players in the tourney are thrashing like fish out of water whenever someone breathes on them, I’d be more than willing to call any or all of the teams there “China Shops!”
The English team have garnered a few new nicknames over the past week 
The argentinian press has baptized the French team as “Moulin Rouge”.
In Argentina we call our National Team, the National Team.
Damn clever, you Argentinians.
In terms of Soccer, i guess Israel is in Europe rather than the Middle East.