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From Mexico City to Ushuaia Trivia Quiz
I'll give you the nickname of some Central and South American national football (soccer) teams and you need to match them to the correct country. All names refer to the men's national teams.
A matching quiz
by ramonesrule.
Estimated time: 4 mins.
(a) Drag-and-drop from the right to the left, or (b) click on a right
side answer box and then on a left side box to move it.
Questions
Choices
1. White and Sky Blues
Paraguay
2. The Golden Squad
Panama
3. The Canal Men
Venezuela
4. The Red One
Chile
5. Los Cafeteros
Uruguay
6. The Sky Blue
Brazil
7. The White and Red
Costa Rica
8. La Vinotinto
Mexico
9. El Tri
Colombia
10. Los Ticos
Argentina
Select each answer
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. White and Sky Blues
Answer: Argentina
Argentina's national team is called La Selección meaning national team, or La Albiceleste meaning White and Sky Blues. The classic light blue and white vertical striped jersey was debuted in 1908.
Argentina has a long history full of victories, heartache and some great rivalries. They won the FIFA World Cup in 1978 against The Netherlands and again in 1986 against West Germany. This tournament success was led by Diego Maradona, one of Argentina's greatest players. Speaking of uniforms and the 1986 championship, the jersey they wore against England in the quarter-final game was a last minute decision due to unavailability of the colors they actually wanted and after they beat England and moved further on in the tournament, the darker blue shirt became a collectors item. Argentina ended up beating England in a match that included both what's been called the 'goal of the century' as well as a very controversial goal helped by the 'hand of God', both scored by Maradona.
2. The Golden Squad
Answer: Brazil
Brazil's national team actually has many nicknames including 'The Green and Yellow' and 'Little Canary'. 'Little Canary' is a reference to a bright yellow canary bird found in Brazil, the team also wears bright yellow jerseys. The team is also called 'Green and Yellow', 'The National Squad' and 'The Scratch' and 'Five-time Champions'.
Brazil has won the FIFA World Cup five times - in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002. They met Germany in the semi-finals of the 2014 World Cup and suffered their largest defeat of any World Cup game; they lost 7-1.
3. The Canal Men
Answer: Panama
The Panama national football team is named 'Los Canaleros' or 'The Canal Men', in reference to the Panama Canal. Panama has had most of their success in the Gold Cup, the football championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean. They made it to the finals of the Gold Cup in both 2005 and 2013 but lost to the USA both times.
They qualified for the World Cup for the first time ever in 2018, losing their very first match 6-1 to England. They ended up finishing last in their group and last overall in the tournament, having conceded eleven goals and losing each of their three matches.
4. The Red One
Answer: Chile
Chile's national football team is nicknamed 'La Roja' or 'The Red One." They typically wear a red jersey with blue shorts and white socks for their home games. They have qualified for the World Cup many times and finished third in 1962. They have had more success at the Copa America - the tournament for South American teams - finishing first in both 2015, beating Argentina, and defended their title in 2016.
5. Los Cafeteros
Answer: Colombia
The Colombian national team is nicknamed 'Los Cafeteros' as a nod to coffee production in the country. Colombian fans are extremely passionate about the game and it is seen as a way to combat negative images of Colombia. A very unfortunate incident happened however at the 1994 World Cup tournament when a Colombian player Andrés Escobar scored an own goal in a match against the USA and was subsequently murdered upon his return to Colombia. From 2002 to 2010 Colombia did not have much luck even qualifying for the World Cup due to frequent rotation changes.
However, they qualified again in 2014 and made it to the quarterfinals of the tournament. When the players returned to Colombia they were greeted as heroes who brought back pride to the country.
6. The Sky Blue
Answer: Uruguay
The nickname for the Uruguay national team is 'La Celeste' or 'The Sky Blue' and this is the jersey color they have worn since 1910. Prior to that, they had a number of different jersey designs and colors. Despite Uruguay's small population they have had quite a bit of success including winning La Copa America seven times between 1917 and 1995.
They won Olympic Gold medals in 1924 and 1928; and they won the World Cup in 1930 and again in 1950, when they beat powerhouse team and heavy favorites and host team Brazil.
7. The White and Red
Answer: Paraguay
Known as 'The Red and White', Paraguay typically wears red and white shirts and blue shorts and socks. They won the Copa America in 1953 and 1979. They had a pretty disastrous time trying to quality for the 2014 World Cup however, going through three coaches in the process, winning only three matches and losing ten times throughout the qualifiers; ultimately not qualifying.
8. La Vinotinto
Answer: Venezuela
Nicknamed 'La Vinovinto' (red wine) because of the traditional burgundy color of their jerseys, Venezuela isn't as successful as other Latin American countries as baseball is a more popular sport there. They didn't participate in qualification for the World Cup tournament until 1966 and didn't have a single win in qualifying matches until 1982, beating Bolivia.
They didn't have another win in qualifying matches until 1994 when they beat Ecuador in a match. They did manage to qualify for the 1980 Summer Olympics, which was their first ever major international football competition.
The team has fared pretty poorly at Copa America tournaments also but did manage to make it to the quarterfinals in 2007 thanks to government and private institution funding and some increased interest in the sport.
9. El Tri
Answer: Mexico
The Mexican national team is known as 'El Tri' or tricolor, representing the three colors in the Mexican flag that appear in their kit - green jerseys, white shorts and red socks. Mexico won the 2012 Summer Olympic Gold medal, beating Brazil in the final.
They've qualified for every FIFA World Cup from 1994 to 2018, being one of only six teams who have done this. The six are: Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, South Korea, Spain.
10. Los Ticos
Answer: Costa Rica
The Costa Rica team is known as 'Los Ticos' as people of Costa Rica are called ticos, by themselves and other Spanish speaking countries. Tico, which means small but is also a term of affection, is a word often added to the end of other words by Costa Ricans.
It's a term of friendliness and familiarity. The Costa Rican team won three CONCACAF championships, in 1963, 1969 and 1989. The team qualified for FIFA World Cup for the very first time in 1990.
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