Euro 2020 is just around the corner and so we’ve decided to take a look at the teams who have already qualified to see who has the best nicknames. Of course not every team is included on the list. We’re looking at you Germany – the team, really?
England – The Three Lions
It has inspired many a dodgy football song, but it’s still a pretty awesome nickname. The nickname comes from the team’s crest and legend has it that it dates back to the 12th century. It is said that a flag with the crest was carried into battle to inspire the soldiers and help them to victory. Not sure that it has the same effect on the football team, but it’s still a pretty good nickname.
Wales – The Dragons
Who doesn’t like dragons? Especially the fire-breathing kind that live on the British Isles, right? The nickname of the Welsh team is perhaps the best of them all. Lions and eagles are all well and good, but nothing quite beats the dragon. Unfortunately, while they may have the most fearsome of names, comparison site Oddschecker tells us that the odds of them winning the tournament aren’t quite so impressive. They are the rank outsiders as it stands and we can’t see them repeating their run in the 2016 tournament. Great name though.
Spain – The Red Fury
Not many people actually realize that Spain have this pretty intimidating and quite cool nickname. In Spanish, it’s La Furia Roja which sounds equally impressive. They earned the nickname in the 1920 Olympics when the side was reported to have an extremely direct and aggressive approach to the game. It’s at odds with today’s tika taka style but it stuck nonetheless.
Denmark – The Danish Dynamite
Yes, it’s a fantastic nickname and one that was coined in 1984 during a song contest for the national football team. During the 1980’s the team was, in fact, a pretty dynamite team and the name was a well-earned one. The 1992 championship winners have in recent times lost some of that spark that once put the fear into their opponents, but on their day, they’re still a good side who may actually surprise a few in the finals.
Croatia – The Fiery Ones
They also have the more well-known nickname of The Chequered Ones, but we much prefer the older one. The World Cup finalists are one of the favourites to do well in this year’s championship but in a group that includes The Three Lions and the Czech Republic, we’re not all that sure how far they’ll go. Having said that, no one predicted their run to the final in 2018, right?
Czech Republic – The Locomotive
Now there are some that might think this nickname is cheesy as hell but we love it. What is stronger than a locomotive barreling down the track? Nothing gets in its way, that’s for sure. The country is one of the world’s largest locomotive builders which possibly explains the nickname. Honestly though, we can’t find much more on it than that. Superb name all the same.
Belgium – The Red Devils
Not to be confused with Manchester United, the Belgium national team earned their nickname in 1906 due to their red jersey. Not the greatest of backstories there, but it is what it is. We were hoping for something about fire and brimstone, but you can’t always get what you want.
The odd ones
The current champions Portugal have a rather odd nickname in The Team of Five. It’s supposed to represent the five dynamics of an effective team but we just think it’s very strange.
Austria have the rather comical Wonder Team as their nickname. While it sounds like something from a cartoon, it’s actually in reference to their 14 match undefeated run in the 1930s.
And that’s your lot. We have to say that The Dragons is our favorite followed closely by The Red Fury. Who would want to face teams with names like that?