When the 2022 World Cup kicks off in Qatar on 21 November 2022, Les Lions de la Teranga and Oranje will face each other in the first match. Later, the Three Lions will play Tim Melli – followed by the official opening match between Al-Annabi and La Tri. The last match of the day will be between the Soccerboys and the Dragons. 

Confused? Each of the 32 teams participating in the World Cup has its own nickname. Often, as is common at the CAF, this has a reference to the animal kingdom or, as with the Harambee Stars in Kenya, a reference to astronomy. Others, like the French, refer to their national colours, but many simply call their team: Team or Selection. It is only because of the different languages that this sometimes sounds more or less scary. 

No fewer than four teams are referred to as Lions: The Three Lions play for England, the Lions of the Atlas (Les Lions de l’Atlas) for Morocco, the Indomitable Lions (Les Lions Indomptables) for Cameroon and Senegal sends the Lions of Teranga (Les Lions de la Teranga) into the race. The low number of only three lions for the English can certainly be explained by the fact that lions are only found in the zoo there. The South Koreans take up the fight against the mighty lions with their Tigers of Asia.

With flapping wings and speed, Tunisia attacks with its Carthaginian eagles (Les Aigles de Carthage), while Serbia’s eagles (Beli Orlovi) are white as a peace dove. Saudi Arabia sends its green falcons (Suqūr Al-Haḍrā’) onto the field. However, they all have to beware of another winged creature: Wales, as dragons, want to spray lots of fire and grill their opponents. The red devils from Belgium (Rode Duivels) may not be able to fly, but they too are known for high temperatures and exaggerated torture methods. Will the red devils be distracted by an equally red beast (Furia Roja) from Spain? Many hot betting predictions are on the way for this epic battle, which could take place as early as the round of 16. 

Other teams are colourful: Qatar plays with the wine-reds (al-Anabbi), Poland with the white-reds (Biało-Czerwoni), while the Netherlands is traditionally called Oranje, which originally did not refer to colour but has become customary. Argentina competes as white-sky-blue (Albiceleste), their neighbours from Uruguay only sky-blue (celeste), as they lack the white snow of the Andes. France is known as the blues (les bleues), although their blue is more of a dark blue, while the samurai blue of Japan does not actually exist, but is very similar to the blue of the French. Mexico and Ecuador may argue over who ultimately gets to call themselves La Tri: both refer to their tri-coloured national flags: Mexico is red, white and green, while Ecuador is yellow, blue and red. With Croatia it is simpler: they are simply chequered (Kockasti). 

Germany simply sends their Team (Die Mannschaft) to Qatar, Brazil their selection (Seleção), which Portugal would also have liked to do, but since the name is paramount, the heraldic selection (Seleção das Quinas) comes instead. Iran also simply sends its national team (Tim Melli), just like Switzerland, but they like it shorter: Nati(onalteam). 

Why Denmark calls themselves Danish Dynamite, although the explosives come from neighbouring Sweden, remains their secret. Australia let their Socceroos hop onto the pitch, and in the USA they still hope that their Soccerboys will grow up one day. That leaves the Ticos from Costa Rica – and that’s what the locals there call them, just like the Canucks from Canada. In Ghana, they hope that at the end of the tournament, the stars will shine black (Black Stars).

All we need now is a psychic or perhaps a simple octopus to tell us who will win this World Cup. But until these are found, we are left with the experts in the field: the website Bettingtipsafrica will provide analysis on all matches and the possible betting opportunities throughout the tournament. Bettingtips Africa also offers current odds, and betting strategies and has taken a close look at the betting siteslicensed in Africa. 

So in the end, it does not matter for your betting account balance whether a lion, an eagle, a beast or a devil is in the final. The winner is clear from the start: you yourself.