Türkiye – World Cup Profile

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·9 Juni 2026

Türkiye – World Cup Profile

At every international tournament, fans try to predict the dark horse – the underdog team that surprises everyone and makes a deep run. In Euro 2020, Türkiye were the popular choice. They lost every game and crashed out of the group stage in embarrassing fashion.

Fans once again (but tentatively) named Türkiye as a dark horse for Euro 2024. They lived up to the hype that time. The Turks won two of their group games to finish second, beating Georgia and Czechia. They then beat an Austria team that topped the Group of Death in the round of 16 before narrowly losing to a strong Netherlands side in the quarterfinals. This summer, Türkiye will once again be a dark horse as they look to shock the world by advancing far in the World Cup.

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How They Qualified

Türkiye’s path to the World Cup was not simple. They were drawn into Group E of UEFA World Cup qualifying alongside reigning Euros champion Spain as well as Georgia and Bulgaria. Beating the two smaller nations wasn’t a problem. Türkiye won all four of their matchups with Georgia and Bulgaria by a combined score of 15-4.

The games against Spain were a different story. The Spaniards set the tone with a 6-0 thrashing in Türkiye on the second matchday. Winning the group after that was an impossible task, although they did manage to scrape a 2-2 draw in Sevilla. As they finished second in the group, Türkiye progressed to the playoff round.

The UEFA qualifying playoff split the 16 teams into four groups of four. They played one-legged semifinals with the two winners facing off in the final. The four teams that won their mini region qualified for the World Cup. Türkiye were drawn into Path C where they played Romania in the semifinal and the winner of Slovakia vs. Kosovo in the final.

Türkiye’s semifinal against Romania was a tense and nervous affair. Neither team managed a shot on target in the first half, although Türkiye controlled 69% possession. They finally found their breakthrough early in the second half. Brighton left back Ferdi Kadıoğlu made a run into the box and was picked out brilliantly by Arda Güler. Kadıoğlu finished the chance and all the Turks had to do was see out the match. Romania didn’t create any big chances and Türkiye advanced.

On the other side, Kosovo beat Slovakia 4-3 in an absolute thriller. The final was eerily similar to the game against Romania for Türkiye. Once again, the first half didn’t have much action besides one decent chance for Kosovo striker Vedat Muriqi. Türkiye once again took the lead early in the second half, this time through Kerem Aktürkoğlu. This goal occurred in the 53rd minute, the exact same time as the one against Romania. Kosovo posed more of a threat but Türkiye were able to see out another clean sheet and won 1-0 to qualify for the World Cup.

Key Players

Arda Güler

Real Madrid have world class players all over the pitch. Out of all the big names, who was their best playmaker? 21 year old Arda Güler. The Turkish wonderkid’s third season in the Spanish capital was a real breakout. He made 57 appearances for Los Blancos, scoring 7 goals and providing 16 assists in all competitions. Güler was one of the constants through all the turmoil the club dealt with this season. The highlight was a brace in the Champions League quarterfinals against Bayern Munich.

Despite his young age, Güler has become arguably Türkiye’s best player. He scored once and recorded four assists in World Cup qualifying including the beautiful ball to Kadıoğlu against Romania. Güler burst onto the international scene during Euro 2024 and has been a key player for his country ever since. He even scored against one of their group opponents USA last summer, although it was a bit of a lucky bounce.

Kenan Yıldız

Many nations around the world still haven’t been blessed with a world class wonderkid. Lightning struck twice for Türkiye in 2005. Their left winger Kenan Yıldız is a joy to watch and is an excellent running mate for Güler. Yıldız broke out for Juventus in 2024/25, helping the Italian giants qualify for the Champions League. He took it up a notch this past season. The German-born winger scored 14 goals and provided 10 assists for Juventus. As a reward, he was named Serie A Rising Star of the Season.

Yıldız got his international career off to the perfect start back in 2023. He scored his first goal for Türkiye in just his second cap. The best part was that it was against his nation of birth Germany. However, Yıldız has struggled at times for his country. He didn’t have the breakout tournament that many anticipated in Euro 2024. He’s only scored five goals for his country in 28 caps and will hope to improve on that record this summer. Against group opponents USA last summer, he was locked up by Alex Freeman who was making his senior debut for the USMNT. Yıldız will need to have his best performances in a Türkiye shirt if they are to have a successful World Cup.

Potential Breakout Player

Can Uzun

It often gets overlooked due to the rapid rise of Güler and Yıldız, but Türkiye actually have a third promising young attacker born in 2005. His name is Can Uzun and he could be in for a breakout World Cup. Uzun enjoyed a great season for Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga. After struggling to find minutes in his first season for the club, Uzun took the leap to becoming a starter for Die Adler (the Eagles). He scored eight times and set up a further four goals in the Bundesliga, proving to be a bright spot in an underwhelming year for the club. He also scored twice in the Champions League despite Frankfurt crashing out in the league phase.

With the spotlight firmly on his fellow wonderkids, this World Cup is the perfect time for Can Uzun to break out for Türkiye. He made his international debut right before the Euros in 2024 but ultimately didn’t make the final squad for the tournament. Uzun has only earned six caps to date but is coming into his own. He recorded his first goal and assist for Türkiye in their recent friendly win over North Macedonia. Although Uzun likely won’t start this summer, he will be an interesting option off the bench if they need a creative spark.

World Cup History

Türkiye’s World Cup history is pretty short. This edition will only be their third World Cup and there’s been a lot of time in between their qualifications. The first time they played in the world’s most important competition was all the way back in 1954. Strangely, they only played two of the three teams in their group. They lost 4-1 to West Germany before trouncing South Korea 7-0. West Germany’s other game was an 8-3 loss to Hungary, so Türkiye faced them again in a playoff to decide who advanced. The Germans once again emerged victorious by a commanding 7-2 scoreline. They also went on to beat Hungary in the final.

The only other World Cup Türkiye have taken part in was in 2002. Despite their lack of history, it was a tournament to remember for the Turks. They kicked off the group stage with a loss to Brazil in a hint at what was to come later down the line. Türkiye then drew Costa Rica before comfortably beating China to advance to the knockouts. Their round of 16 opponent was co-hosts Japan. It was a tight game but an early goal from Ümit Davala got the job done for Türkiye. Watch out USMNT, Türkiye have a history of knocking out the hosts.

Their quarterfinal opponent was Senegal and it was another low-scoring match. In 2002 the golden goal rule was still in effect and that’s how Türkiye won. İlhan Mansız scored in the 94th minute to immediately send his country to an improbable semifinal. They had to face group opponents Brazil in the semis and that was where the underdog story ended. Ronaldo Fenômeno scored the only goal. Türkiye did manage to beat South Korea in the third place game and actually scored the quickest ever World Cup goal in that match, just 10.8 seconds in.

Coach Profile: Vincenzo Montella

Italian manager Vincenzo Montella is Türkiye’s boss. Most of his coaching career has been in Serie A thus far. Montella got his start as interim manager of Roma after coaching their youth team. He didn’t get the job permanently but found a short-term home with Catania for a year before joining Fiorentina. Montella led La Viola to the 2014 Coppa Italia final and the 2014-15 Europa League semifinals, but ultimately failed to win a trophy in Florence. He then had short stints at Sampdoria, AC Milan, Sevilla, and Fiorentina again. None of those even lasted a full year. After taking a break for a year and a half, he joined Turkish club Adana Demirspor and managed them for two seasons. Shortly after being sacked, he was announced as Türkiye’s new coach.

Montella has achieved some decent success with Türkiye. He qualified them for Euro 2024 and had a memorable tournament that summer in Germany, reaching the quarterfinals. Despite a tough group draw, Montella’s Türkiye did enough to reach the playoffs and even got a point against Spain. Two shutout victories against Romania and Kosovo saw Türkiye qualify for their first World Cup in 24 years. Montella will be hoping for another dark horse run this summer.

Fan Culture

Anyone who has watched a Süper Lig match knows how crazy the atmosphere can get. Turkish fans are some of the most passionate in the entire world, especially the fanbases of Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray in recent years. It seems like every year there’s a new wild controversy due to the actions of Turkish fans.

Türkiye has a diaspora in the USA of around 350,000 people. Most of them are located in New York and California, as is the case for most foreign diasporas in the country. Luckily for Türkiye, two of their group stage games will be in California. Combine the Turkish-American population with fans that always travel extremely well and Türkiye matches could have a great atmosphere this summer.