Pretty much every team in world football has a nickname – from the Three Lions (England) to the Red Devils (Belgium) to Les Léopards (DR Congo).
In fact, Scotland are the only nation at this 48-team World Cup without a nickname, officially.
Now, there’ll surely be one or two readers shouting at the screen “what about the Tartan Army?”
However, this a moniker is purely one for the supporters of Scotland, not its team.
This is highlighted on the official Wikipedia page of the the Scotland national team which specifies in brackets (supporters) next to the Tartan Army nickname.
This little bit of trivia is made even more incredible when you remember Scotland were, along with England, the first two ever national football teams.
So, why doesn’t Scotland have a nickname?
Well, one theory is that the team just outdates having a nickname because it is that old.
Back in 1870 when the first international match happened between England and Scotland, they were just simply known as that.
It wasn’t until later that teams started to adopt official nicknames, with Belgium supposedly the first in 1906 with the Red Devils.
Scotland has had a few unofficial nicknames, such as the Bravehearts and the Dark Blues, but none have really stuck.
Other than that, there isn’t really any actual reason for why Scotland don’t have a nickname – that’s just how it’s always been.
So, with that in mind, maybe it’s time to get your suggestions in!
Every World Cup nation’s nickname
| Team | Common nickname(s) |
|---|---|
| Algeria | The Fennecs / The Desert Warriors |
| Argentina | La Albiceleste (“The White and Sky Blues”) |
| Australia | Socceroos |
| Austria | Das Team |
| Belgium | The Red Devils |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | The Dragons (Zmajevi) |
| Brazil | Seleção / Canarinho (“Little Canary”) |
| Canada | Les Rouges (“The Reds”) / The Canucks |
| Cape Verde | Blue Sharks |
| Colombia | Los Cafeteros (“The Coffee Growers”) |
| Croatia | Vatreni (“The Blazers”) |
| Curaçao | La Familia Azul (“The Blue Family”) |
| Czechia | Národní tým (“The National Team”) |
| DR Congo | The Leopards |
| Ecuador | La Tri |
| Egypt | The Pharaohs |
| England | The Three Lions |
| France | Les Bleus (“The Blues”) |
| Germany | Nationalelf |
| Ghana | Black Stars |
| Haiti | Les Grenadiers (“The Grenadiers”) |
| Iran | Team Melli |
| Iraq | Lions of Mesopotamia |
| Ivory Coast | The Elephants (Les Éléphants) |
| Japan | Samurai Blue |
| Jordan | Al-Nashama (“The Chivalrous Ones”) |
| Mexico | El Tri |
| Morocco | Atlas Lions |
| Netherlands | Oranje |
| New Zealand | All Whites |
| Norway | Løvene (“The Lions”) |
| Panama | Los Canaleros (“The Canal Men”) |
| Paraguay | La Albirroja (“The White and Reds”) |
| Portugal | A Seleção |
| Qatar | Al Annabi (“The Maroons”) |
| Saudi Arabia | Green Falcons |
| Scotland | No official team nickname (supporters are known as The Tartan Army) |
| Senegal | Lions of Teranga |
| South Africa | Bafana Bafana |
| South Korea | Taegeuk Warriors |
| Spain | La Roja / La Furia Roja |
| Sweden | Blågult (“Blue and Yellow”) |
| Switzerland | La Nati |
| Tunisia | Eagles of Carthage |
| Turkey | Ay-Yıldızlılar (“The Crescent-Stars”) |
| United States | USMNT / The Stars and Stripes / The Yanks |
| Uruguay | La Celeste |
| Uzbekistan | White Wolves |
