List of AFC national association football teams by nickname

The following is a list of nicknames of AFC national association football teams.

Nicknames

• Nicknames in italics are commonly used in English.

Team	Nickname	English translation	Notes	Ref.
Afghanistan	Širhâi Khorasan	The Lions of Khorasan	Afghanistan or the Greater Khorasan Region which is also known as the land of Lions.	[1]
Australia	Socceroos		Blend word formed by "Soccer" and "Kangaroo".	[2]
Australia (Women's)	Matildas		From the Australian folk song "Waltzing Matilda".	[3]
Bahrain	الذئب الأحمر	The Red Wolves, The Reds,	The Bahrain Flag was historically Red before white was added in 1820. It now has 5 white points signifying the 5 pillars of Islam.	[4]
Bangladesh	Bengal Tigers		The royal Bengal tiger is the national animal of Bangladesh.	[5]
Bhutan	Druk Eleven	Dragon Boys	The Druk is the "Thunder Dragon" of Tibetan and Bhutanese mythology and a Bhutanese national symbol.	[6]
Brunei	Tebuan	The Wasps / Hornets	The Tebuan or Oriental hornet is a social insect. It can be found in Southwest Asia, Northeast Africa, the island of Madagascar, the Middle East and parts of Southern Europe.	[7]
Cambodia	Krom Chumreswcheit	The National Team	Angkor was the capital city of the Khmer Empire, which flourished from approximately the 9th to 15th centuries. Angkor was a megacity, supporting at least 0.1% of the global population during 1010–1220.	[8]
	អ្នកចម្បាំងអង្គរ	Angkor Warriors		[9]
	គោព្រៃកម្ពុជា	Kouprey Kampuchea	The kouprey also called the grey ox is a little-known, forest-dwelling, wild bovine species from Southeast Asia.	[10]
China PR	龙之队	The Dragons	The Chinese dragon, also known as East Asian dragon or Long, are legendary creatures in Chinese mythology, Chinese folklore, and East Asian culture at large.	[11]
	中国队	Team China		[12]
China PR (Women's)	铿锵玫瑰	The Steel Roses	In the 1999 World Cup final match, the Chinese team lost to the U.S. by a single penalty kick. After that loss, the Chinese team was nicknamed “Steel Roses” by their fans.	[13]
Chinese Taipei	中华队	Team China	Mainland China and Taiwan both claim sovereignty of the island nation and due to complicated political, maneuvering, and to appease China, the island's sporting teams and took the moniker Chinese Taipei. Chinese Athletes from the Island call themselves Team China.	[14]
Guam	Matao		Matao is the definition of highest level or "noble" class.	[15]
Hong Kong	(勁揪)	The Strength	A popular slang in Hong Kong which translated means is "strong, powerful, sturdy"	[16]
		Hong Kong Team
India	Blue Tigers		In India, the color blue is associated with Lord Krishna, one of the most favored Gods in India and the Royal Bengal tiger is the symbol of strength, agility, and grace, a combination that is unmatched by any other animal.	[17]
Indonesia	Merah Putih	The Reds and Whites	The Indonesian flag is a horizontal bicolor with two equal horizontal bars of red and white. In Indonesian, this flag is called "Sang Saka Merah Putih" (meaning "lofty bicolor red and white").	[18]
	Garuda		The Garuda is a mythical animal.	[19]
Iran	تیم ملی Team Melli	The National Team	Literally means "The national team" in the Persian language.	[20]
Iraq	اسود الرافدين	Lions of Mesopotamia	Found in the Ancient Arabian Peninsula, the Asiatic lion otherwise known as the Lion of Mesopotamia has great significance in Arab and Islamic culture.	[21]
	Usood Al-Rafidain
Japan	サムライ・ブルー	Samurai Blue	The Samurai were the military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan. The football team's colors are predominantly blue.	[22][23]
Japan (Women's)	なでしこジャパン	Nadeshiko Japan	Floral metaphor meaning "personification of an idealized Japanese woman".	[24]
Jordan	النشامى	The Brave Gentlemen	Commonly they are known as Al-Nashama, which translates as The Brave Gentlemen in English.	[25]
	The An-Nashama
Kuwait	الأزرق	The Blues	Named after the town of Azraq, best known for the Qasr al-Azraq, a large fortress located in present-day eastern Jordan. This imposing fort is was instrumental during the Arab Revolt against the Turks	[26]
	Al-Azraq
Kyrgyzstan	Ак шумкарлар	White Falcons	Falconry is an ancient trademark of the Kyrgyz nomads that roamed the steppes of Central Asia.	[27]
Laos	ທິມຊາດ	The National Team	Thimsad simply means the national team in the Lao language.	[28]
		Thimsad
Lebanon	رجال الأرز	The Cedars	The Cedar is the national symbol of Lebanon.	[29][30]
Lebanon (Women's)	صبايا الأرز	The Lady Cedars		[31][32]
Macau	A Equipa Verde	The Green Team	The Regional flag of the Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China is light green with a lotus flower above the stylized Governador Nobre de Carvalho Bridge and water in white.	[33]
Malaysia	Harimau Malaya	Malayan tigers	The Malayan tiger is a tiger population in Peninsular Malaysia.	[34]
Maldives	Red Snappers		Also known as Humpback red snappers, they are one of the most commonly caught fish species of the Maldives.	[35]
Mongolia	Xөx чононууд	Blue Wolves	The Mongolian Wolf is a subspecies of the grey wolf which is native to Mongolia. Mongolia's Pristine beauty is also known as the Land of the Eternal Blue Sky.	[36]
Myanmar	The Asian Lions		Asian lion appears on the logo of Myanmar National Football Team	[37]
Nepal	The Gorkhali		Nepalese National Soldiers.	[38]
North Korea	천리마	The Chollima	Chollima is a mythical horse.	[39]
Oman	الأحمر	The Reds	Referring to the "golden age" of Omani football in the 2010s.	[40]
	سامبا الخليج	Gulf Samba		[41]
Pakistan	The Green and White Team		The Pakistani flag is a green field with a white crescent moon and five-rayed star at its center, and a vertical white stripe at the hoist side.	[42]
Palestine	الفدائيون	The Fedayeen	The nickname comes from the name for Palestinian freedom fighters.	[43]
Philippines	Azkals	Street Dogs	Stylized form of "askal", a Tagalog slang for indigenous/mongrel dogs, which are often street dogs. The nickname adopted in the 2010s references tenacity and resilience and is also a reference to the mixed heritage of most players of the team.	[44][45]
Philippines (Women's)	Malditas	Feisty Ladies	Maldita means "naughty" or "spoiled" in Filipino slang.	[46][47]
Qatar	العنابي	The Maroons	From the national flag of Qatar which is maroon with a broad white serrated band (nine white points) on the hoist side.	[48]
Saudi Arabia	الأخضر	The Greens	From the Saudi flag, which is a green flag featuring in white an Arabic inscription and a sword. Falconry, an art rooted in Saudi traditions Deeply rooted in Bedouin culture in the Middle East, falcons have always been a strong ally of the Arabian desert tribes.	[49]
	الصقور الخضر	The Green Falcons		[50]
Singapore	The Lions		The Lion dates back to its founder Prince Sang Nila Utama who saw a Lion at the island of Temasek which present-day Singapore. He renamed the city “Singapura” – derived from the Malay words “Singa” for Lion and “Pura” for the city.	[51]
South Korea	붉은 악마	Red Devils	Taegeuk is referred to the red and blue circle used in the flag of South Korea	[52]
	태극전사	Taegeuk Warriors		[53]
	아시아의 호랑이	Asian Tigers		[54]
Sri Lanka	Brave Reds		The traditional national team's home kit has mostly been Yellow shirts and yellow shorts and socks for the home kit and maroon shirts and maroon shorts for the away kit. The colors are derived from the 15th-century flag of Kingdom of Kandy.	[55]
	Golden Lions
Syria	نسور قاسيون	Qasioun Eagles	Mount Qasioun is a mountain overlooking the city of Damascus	[56]
Tajikistan	Шерҳои Форсӣ	The Persian Lions	The ancient Persian symbol of the Lion comprises two images - a lion and the sun. The lion represents divinity, royalty and the mighty lineage of the kings.	[57]
	дастаи мунтакҳаби	The National Team		[58]
Thailand	ช้างศึก	War Elephants	The elephant is an important figure of Thai culture.	[59]
Thailand (Women's)	ชบาแก้ว	Chaba Kaew	A pink elephant in the Thai animated film Khan Kluay.	[60]
Timor-Leste	O Sol Nascente	The Rising Sun	Timor Leste is known as the land of the rising sun.	[61]
	The Little Samba Nation		East Timor was dubbed the "Little Samba Nation" for its use of naturalized Brazilians on its national team.	[62]
	El Lafaek	The Crocodiles	Crocodiles are revered in East Timor, where local residents refer to the animals as “grandfathers” and crocodiles are honored with shrines around the country.	[63]
Turkmenistan	Aхал-теке	Dark Horses	The Akhal-Teke is the national emblem of Turkmenistan.	[64]
United Arab Emirates	عيال زايد	Zayed's sons	Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan was the founding father of the United Arab Emirates.	[65]
	الصقور	The Eagles	The Arab Eagle is displayed on the emblem of the UAE.	[66]
Uzbekistan	Oq bo'rilar	White Wolves	The grey wolf is a native of Uzbekistan it is a revered animal.	[67]
Vietnam	Những chiến binh Sao Vàng	Golden Star Warriors	Derived from the national flag of Vietnam on the team's jersey.	[68]
Vietnam (Women's)	Những Cô Gái Vàng	The Golden Girls		[69]
Yemen	اليمن السعيد	The Happy Yemen	In ancient times Yemen was known as Arabia Felix, Latin for "happy" or "fortunate" Arabia.	[70]

See also

• List of national association football teams by nickname

References

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