WOMEN'S WORLD CUP 2023
Women’s World Cup 2023: these are the nicknames of all the teams
The Stars and Stripes are favourites to triumph in Australia and New Zealand but will face a stiff test from The Lionesses amongst others.
The Women’s World Cup 2023 is almost upon us and, as is the case with any major international tournament, it’s an opportunity to not only see some of our favourite stars in action on the greatest stage of all, but also a chance to learn a thing or two about players, teams and indeed countries that we were perhaps not overly familiar with beforehand.
When does the Women’s World Cup 2023 start?
The action gets underway in Australia and New Zealand on Thursday 20 July when The Football Ferns (New Zealand) take on The Grasshoppers (Norway), shortly before The Matildas (Australia) take on The Girls in Green (Republic of Ireland). The Stars and Stripes (we’re sure you know that one) play their first game of the tournament on Saturday 22 July against The Golden Girls (Vietnam, not the cast of the 1980s sitcom, just to clarify).
With the 2023 edition set to be the biggest Women’s World Cup in history, there is more interest in the tournament than ever, which means more fans attending games, more eyes watching on television and more media content to consume.
What’s in a soccer team nickname?
With that latter point in mind, you’ll have to know your Super Falcons from your Steel Roses, and your Canaleras from your Cafeteras (us journalists certainly will, at least).
As ever with soccer team nicknames, there is an eclectic mix, with references to national and cultural symbols, flags, colours and national association badges amongst other things.
The WWC’s least and most interesting nicknames
Germany’s Die Nationalelf (the national 11) is surely the least interesting of the 32 nicknames, along with Brazil’s Seleção (the national team), although there is at least the option to call the South Americans As Canarinhas (The Canaries).
On the flip side, Japan are also referred to as Nadeshiko, a Japanese term meaning the “personification of an idealised Japanese woman” or “the epitome of pure, feminine beauty”. Lovely.
Canada made headlines during the men’s World Cup in Qatar last year for not having an “official” nickname but both the men’s and women’s national teams have been increasingly referred to as The Canucks. Let’s see what happens with that one in Australia and New Zealand.
Here are the nicknames of all 32 participants at the Women’s World Cup 2023:
Group A
- New Zealand - The Football Ferns
- Norway - Gresshoppene (The Grasshoppers)
- Philippines - Filipinas
- Switzerland - Schweizerinnen / La Nati
Group B
- Australia - The Matildas
- Republic of Ireland - The Girls in Green
- Nigeria - The Super Falcons
- Canada - The Canucks
Group C
- Spain - La Roja
- Costa Rica - La Tricolor / Las Ticas
- Zambia - The Shepolopolo / The Copper Queens
- Japan - Nadeshiko
Group D
- England - The Lionesses
- Haiti - Les Grenadières (The Grenadiers)
- Denmark - De rød-hvide (The Red and White)
- China - Steel Roses
Group E
- USA - The Stars and Stripes
- Vietnam - Golden Girls / The Golden Star Warriors
- Netherlands - Oranje (Orange) / Leeuwinnen (The Lionesses)
- Portugal - A Seleção das Quinas
Group F
- France - Les Bleues
- Jamaica - Reggae Girlz
- Brazil - As Canarinhas (The Canaries) / Seleção
- Panama - Las Canaleras (The Canal Girls)
Group G
- Sweden - Blågult (The Blue and Yellow)
- South Africa - Banyana Banyana
- Italy - La Azzurre
- Argentina - La Albiceleste
Group H
- Germany - Die Nationalelf
- Morocco - Atlas Lionesses
- Colombia - Las Cafeteras (The Coffee Growers)
- Republic of Korea - Taeguk Ladies