Jump to content

Turkey national football team

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by PKT (talk | contribs) at 13:26, 3 December 2016 (Disambiguated: Daniel Siebert → Daniel Siebert (referee)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Turkey women's national football team.

Turkey
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)[Ay-Yıldızlılar] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) (The Crescent-Stars)[1]
Association[[[Turkish Football Federation|Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu]]] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) (TFF)
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachFatih Terim
CaptainArda Turan[2]
Most capsRüştü Reçber (120)
Top scorerHakan Şükür (51)
Home stadiumKonya Büyükşehir Stadium
Antalya Arena
FIFA codeTUR[3]
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current24 Increase 1 (24 November 2016)
Highest5 (June 2004)
Lowest67 (October 1993)
First international
 Turkey 2–2 Romania 
(Istanbul, Turkey; 26 October 1923)[4]
Biggest win
 Turkey 7–0 Syria
(Ankara, Turkey; 20 November 1949)
 Turkey 7–0 South Korea
(Geneva, Switzerland; 20 June 1954)
 Turkey 7–0 San Marino
(Istanbul, Turkey; 10 November 1996)
Biggest defeat
 England 8–0 Turkey 
(London, England; 14 October 1987)
World Cup
Appearances2 (first in 1954)
Best resultThird place, 2002
European Championship
Appearances4 (first in 1996)
Best resultSemi-finals, 2008
FIFA Confederations Cup
Appearances1 (first in 2003)
Best resultThird place, 2003

The Turkey national football team (Turkish: Türkiye Millî Futbol Takımı) represents Turkey in association football and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Turkey. They are affiliated with UEFA.

Turkey has qualified three times for the World Cup, in 1950, 1954, and 2002, although they withdrew from the 1950 event. Turkey has also qualified four times for the UEFA European Championship, in 1996, 2000, 2008, and 2016. They have reached the semi-finals of three major tournaments: the 2002 World Cup, the 2003 Confederations Cup, and Euro 2008. After their third-place finish at the 2002 World Cup, which marked a high point in Turkish football history, Turkey occupied a spot in the top ten of the FIFA World Rankings for the first time since the rankings were introduced in December 1992.[5]

History

Further information: History of Turkish football
Turkey against Romania in 1923.

Early years

The Turkish national team played their first ever match against Romania in 1923 drawing 2–2.[6] Zeki Rıza Sporel is considered as the first big star of Turkish football as he scored the first two goals against Romania. Turkey played their first ever official match at the 1924 Summer Olympics losing 5–2 to Czechoslovakia.

1950 FIFA World Cup

Although Turkey qualified for the 1950 World Cup, beating Syria 7–0, they had to withdraw due to financial problems.

1954 FIFA World Cup

Turkey then qualified for the 1954 World Cup after a play-off with Spain. The Turkish team first lost 4–1 to Spain, but a 1–0 win a few days later initiated a replay. On that occasion, they tied 2–2 after, booking their place after a coin toss. Turkey was put in a group along with Hungary and West Germany. The Turks, however, never played Hungary due to the tournament format, and a 4–1 defeat by the Germans was followed by Turkey carrying out a 7–0 win over South Korea. Turkey lost the play-off to West Germany 7–2. In 1956 Turkey did however play Hungary, in a friendly match in Istanbul, beating what was one of the strongest teams of the era 3–1.[7] Lefter Küçükandonyadis, all-time best player of Turkey netted in two goals during the tournament.

Near misses

Despite the introduction of a national league, and showings by Turkish clubs in European competition, the 1960s would be a barren time for the national team. Most players from the 1954 World Cup squad were retired, and the new generation of players failed to qualify for a major tournament. The 1970s saw Turkey holding back in the World Cup and European Championship qualifiers, but the team was a point too short to qualify for both Euro 1972 and Euro 1976. In the 1980s the Turkish team also suffered their worst defeats with 8–0 scorelines against Poland and twice against England. Yet the 1990 World Cup qualifiers would mark a turning point for Turkish football, with Turkey only missing out on qualification in the final game. Prominent players in this period were Rıdvan Dilmen, Oğuz Çetin, Rıza Çalımbay, Feyyaz Uçar, and European Golden Boot winner Tanju Çolak.

1990–1996

In 1990, German coach Sepp Piontek was put in charge of the national team. Under his guidance, a group of new players debuted for the national team. Many of these players which include: Bülent Korkmaz, Alpay Özalan, Sergen Yalçın, Rüştü Reçber, and Hakan Şükür would become the backbone of the national team for many years. Piontek's mission came to an end in 1993, where he was replaced by Fatih Terim, who in turn managed to qualify for Euro 1996. Turkey qualified for its first major tournament since 1954, marking another turning point for Turkish football after having failed to qualify for both Euro 1992 and the 1994 FIFA World Cup. The appointment of Piontek was a recommended move by another German coach Jupp Derwall, who had coached Galatasaray for three seasons. Derwall is regarded as the revolutionizer of Turkish football, since his introduction of modern Western European training techniques, and tactical ideas to the Turkish game also heavily influenced the national team.

Euro 1996

Turkey national football team on an Azerbaijan stamp for Euro 1996.

Turkey qualified for Euro 1996, beating both Switzerland and Sweden 2–1 along the way. Despite a solid performance during the qualifiers, Turkey lost all their matches without scoring a single goal. They did, however, go home with an award: the fair-play award, given to Alpay Özalan.

Euro 2000

Turkey failed to qualify for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, they however qualified for Euro 2000 after winning a play-off against Ireland. Turkey lost their first match 2–1 to Italy, they drew their second match against Sweden 0–0, and beat host nation Belgium 2–0, making it the first time in the history of the European Championship that a host nation had been eliminated in the first round. This victory brought Turkey into the last eight of the tournament, where they were beaten 2–0 by Portugal, with Arif Erdem missing a critical penalty.

2002 FIFA World Cup

For the 2002 FIFA World Cup Turkey finished second in their qualifying group, despite starting well and being the favourites to top the group. They lost 2–1 to Sweden in the crucial match that would decide the top spot. The Turks were forced to play the play-offs against Austria. They defeated the Austrians 6–0 on aggregate and booked their place at the finals. The Turkish team started the 2002 World Cup with a 2–1 defeat against eventual winners Brazil.[8] Turkey qualified from the group stage with a 3–0 win against China, after drawing 1–1 with Costa Rica.[9][10]

Turkey then faced home team Japan in the second round, beating them 1–0.[11] The Turkish team continued their run, as they beat Senegal 1–0 on a golden goal to book their place in the semi-finals, where a 1–0 defeat against eventual tournament winners Brazil forced them to play the third place match, and a bronze medal was won after a 3–2 victory over the South Korean team.[12][13][14] Hakan Şükür scored Turkey's first goal in 10.8 seconds, even when the South Koreans kicked off first. It was the fastest goal in World Cup history.[15] Tens of thousands of flag-waving Turkish fans greeted the World Cup squad on their return to Istanbul, where they joined a massive street party at Taksim Square.[16] Rüştü Reçber, Alpay Özalan, and Hasan Şaş were all included in the All-Star Team, with Rüştü Reçber also being voted as the best goalkeeper in the UEFA Team of the Year 2002, while Şenol Güneş was being voted as the best manager.

2003 FIFA Confederations Cup

In the summer of 2003, Turkey reached third place at the 2003 Confederations Cup. In the group stages, Turkey defeated the United States 2–1, before losing to Cameroon 0–1, in their final group game, Turkey drew 2–2 against Brazil, eliminating them from the tournament. Turkey lost to eventual tournament winners France 3–2 in the semi-final match. Turkey then defeated Colombia 2–1 to win the bronze medal. Tuncay Şanlı scored three goals and made an assist which won him the Silver Shoe Award and the Silver Ball Award, for the second best player of the tournament.

Euro 2004

The Turkish team failed to qualify for Euro 2004 on play-offs due to a loss to Latvia after finishing second in their group. This marked a turning point for the national team as new players were introduced to the national team to create a new generation.

2006 FIFA World Cup

The Turkish team once again narrowly missed out on the World Cup finals after failing to win a play-off, this time on away goals against Switzerland, again after finishing second in their group. There were scenes of violence after the game on and off the pitch where the Turkish team brawled with Swiss players down the tunnel.

Turkey against France on 5 June 2009.

Euro 2008

Turkey qualified for their first international tournament in six years by finishing second behind Greece in UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group C to reach the European Championships. They were placed alongside Switzerland, Portugal, and the Czech Republic in Group A. In their first match, they played Portugal and were beaten 2–0, but wins over Switzerland (2–1) and Czech Republic (3–2) – both secured by late goals – brought qualification for the knockout stages.[17][18][19] Again, Turkey knocked out a host nation – Switzerland – in the group stages for the second time.[20]

The quarter-final against Croatia was goalless after 90 minutes, and Croatia led 1–0 in the final minute of extra time, but another late Turkish goal by forward Semih Şentürk brought the game to penalties. The goal raised some controversy with Croatia fans and Croatia's coach, Slaven Bilić, who claimed that the goal had been scored after extra time had elapsed. This complaint, however, was overruled, and the game went into penalties. Turkey beat out Croatia in penalties 3–1.[21]

They went into the semi-final against Germany with just 14 outfield players available as a result of injuries and suspensions, but scored first and were drawing 2–2. But they finished 3rd by default after losing to Germany 3–2 with a last minute goal by Philipp Lahm.[22] Both Russia and Turkey were given bronze medals in the dressing rooms after the semi-finals.

2010 FIFA World Cup

For the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers Turkey had a mixed qualifying campaign, finishing with 15 points and missing out on a play-off place to Bosnia and Herzegovina with 19 points. Spain topped the group to qualify, winning every game in the process. Coach Fatih Terim announced he would be resigning his post following their failure to qualify.[23]

Euro 2012

The Turkish team during the UEFA Euro 2012 qualification.

Turkey were drawn in Group A in qualification for UEFA Euro 2012, together with Kazakhstan, Austria, Belgium, Germany, and Azerbaijan. The Turkish team reached the play-offs after beating Azerbaijan 1–0 but got eliminated 3–0 on aggregate by Croatia.

Turkey against Austria on 29 March 2016.

On 14 November 2012, Turkey celebrated their 500th match in a friendly game played against Denmark at the Türk Telekom Arena in Istanbul that ended in a 1–1 draw. Before the match, footballers and coaches, who contributed to the national team's success in the past, were honored. Turkish pop singer Hadise, who wore a national team jersey with the number 500, gave a mini concert.[24][25]

2014 FIFA World Cup

Turkey were drawn in Group D in qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, together with Andorra, Estonia, Hungary, the Netherlands, and Romania finishing 4th. Turkey began to lose critical points during qualification and Abdullah Avcı was sacked soon after. Fatih Terim was put in charge for the third time to lead the national team, but a 0–2 defeat against the Netherlands ended all hopes.

Euro 2016

Turkey were drawn in Group A in qualification for UEFA Euro 2016, together with Iceland, Latvia, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic. The Turkish team qualified for their first major tournament in eight years as the best third-placed team after beating Iceland 1–0, with Selçuk İnan netting a free kick in the 89th minute. After over 18 months being unbeaten, a loss to England as a pre-tournament friendly ended the team's winning streak, subsequently leading to back-to-back losses against Croatia and Spain in the tournament. Turkey won their last game against the Czech Republic by a scoreline of 2–0, but this victory was not enough to reach the knockout phase. Despite elimination, youngster Emre Mor's skillful display and assist during the game revealed a hopeful future for Turkish football.

Fixtures and results

Main article: Turkey national football team results

2016

24 March Friendly Turkey  2–1  Sweden Antalya, Turkey
20:45 UTC+2 Tosun 32', 81' Report Granqvist 74' Stadium: Antalya Arena
Referee: Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)
29 March Friendly Austria  1–2  Turkey Wien, Austria
20:45 Junuzović 22' Report Çalhanoğlu 43'
Turan 56'		 Stadium: Ernst-Happel-Stadion
Referee: Paweł Gil (Poland)
22 May Friendly England  2–1  Turkey Manchester, England
17:15 Kane 3'
Vardy 83'		 Source Çalhanoğlu 13' Stadium: City of Manchester Stadium
Referee: Deniz Aytekin (Germany)
29 May Friendly Turkey  1–0  Montenegro Antalya, Turkey
20:45 Topal 90+4' Stadium: Antalya Arena
Referee: Daniel Siebert (Germany)
5 June Friendly Slovenia  0–1  Turkey Ljubljana, Slovenia
20:15 Yılmaz 5' Stadium: Stožice Stadium
Referee: Marco Guida (Italy)
12 June Group Stage Turkey  0–1  Croatia Paris, France
15:00
(16:00 UTC+3)		 Modrić 41' Stadium: Parc des Princes
Attendance: 43,842
Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden)
17 June Group Stage Spain  3–0  Turkey Nice, France
21:00
(22:00 UTC+3)		 Morata 34', 48'
Nolito 37'		 Stadium: Allianz Riviera
Attendance: 33,409
Referee: Milorad Mažić (Serbia)
21 June Group Stage Czech Republic  0–2  Turkey Lens, France
21:00
(22:00 UTC+3)		 Report Yılmaz 10'
Tufan 65'		 Stadium: Stade Bollaert-Delelis
Attendance: 32,836
Referee: Willie Collum (Scotland)
31 August Friendly Turkey  0–0  Russia Antalya, Turkey
21:30 (UTC+3) Stadium: New Antalya Stadium
Attendance: 32,000
Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia)
5 September 2018 FIFA WC Q Croatia  1–1  Turkey Zagreb, Croatia
20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)		 Rakitić 44' (pen.) Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)		 Çalhanoğlu 45+3' Stadium: Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb
Attendance: 0[note 1]
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland)
6 October 2018 FIFA WC Q Turkey  2–2  Ukraine Konya, Turkey
21:45 UTC+3 Tufan 45+1'
Çalhanoğlu 81' (pen.)		 Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)		 Yarmolenko 24' (pen.)
Kravets 27'		 Stadium: Torku Arena
Attendance: 42,000
Referee: Manuel Gräfe (Germany)
9 October 2018 FIFA WC Q Iceland  2–0  Turkey Reykjavik, Iceland
18:45
(21:45 UTC+3)		 Toprak 42' (o.g.)
Finnbogason 44'		 Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)		 Stadium: Laugardalsvöllur
Attendance: 9,775
Referee: Mark Clattenburg (England)
12 November 2018 FIFA WC Q Turkey  2–0  Kosovo Antalya, Turkey
21:45 UTC+3) Yılmaz 51'
Şen 55'		 Stadium: New Antalya Stadium
Attendance: 32,000
Referee: Tamás Bognár (Hungary)

Coaching staff

Head Coach Turkey Fatih Terim
Assistant Coach Turkey Nihat Kahveci
Assistant Coach Turkey Tuncay Şanlı
Fitness Coach United States Mike Verhoeven
Goalkeeping Coach Turkey Eren Aytekin
National Team Manager Turkey Mustafa Eröğüt
Team Doctor Turkey Sarper Çetinkaya

Squad

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification game against Kosovo on November 12, 2016.[27]
Caps and goals updated as 12 November 2016 after the match against Kosovo.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Volkan Babacan (1988-08-11) 11 August 1988 (age 36) 25 0 Turkey İstanbul Başakşehir
12 1GK Onur Kıvrak (1988-01-01) 1 January 1988 (age 36) 12 0 Turkey Trabzonspor
23 1GK Harun Tekin (1989-06-17) 17 June 1989 (age 35) 0 0 Turkey Bursaspor
7 2DF Gökhan Gönül (1985-01-04) 4 January 1985 (age 39) 60 1 Turkey Beşiktaş
4 2DF Ömer Toprak (1989-07-21) 21 July 1989 (age 35) 25 2 Germany Bayer Leverkusen
3 2DF İsmail Köybaşı (1989-07-10) 10 July 1989 (age 35) 22 0 Turkey Fenerbahçe
13 2DF Hasan Ali Kaldırım (1989-12-09) 9 December 1989 (age 34) 18 0 Turkey Fenerbahçe
2 2DF Şener Özbayraklı (1990-01-23) 23 January 1990 (age 34) 12 0 Turkey Fenerbahçe
4 2DF Ahmet Yılmaz Çalık (1994-02-26) 26 February 1994 (age 30) 7 0 Turkey Gençlerbirliği
22 2DF Kaan Ayhan (1994-11-10) 10 November 1994 (age 29) 4 0 Germany Fortuna Düsseldorf
2DF Çağlar Söyüncü (1996-05-23) 23 May 1996 (age 28) 2 0 Germany SC Freiburg
2DF Yalçın Ayhan (1982-05-01) 1 May 1982 (age 42) 0 0 Turkey İstanbul Başakşehir
10 3MF Arda Turan (Captain) (1987-01-30) 30 January 1987 (age 37) 95 17 Spain Barcelona
15 3MF Mehmet Topal (1986-03-03) 3 March 1986 (age 38) 67 1 Turkey Fenerbahçe
8 3MF Selçuk İnan (1985-02-10) 10 February 1985 (age 39) 56 8 Turkey Galatasaray
5 3MF Hakan Çalhanoğlu (1994-02-08) 8 February 1994 (age 30) 26 8 Germany Bayer Leverkusen
20 3MF Volkan Şen (1987-07-07) 7 July 1987 (age 37) 24 1 Turkey Fenerbahçe
14 3MF Oğuzhan Özyakup (1992-09-23) 23 September 1992 (age 32) 24 1 Turkey Beşiktaş
19 3MF Yunus Mallı (1992-02-24) 24 February 1992 (age 32) 9 0 Germany Mainz 05
3MF Okay Yokuşlu (1994-03-09) 9 March 1994 (age 30) 3 0 Turkey Trabzonspor
21 3MF Emre Çolak (1991-05-20) 20 May 1991 (age 33) 2 0 Spain Deportivo La Coruña
6 3MF Tolga Ciğerci (1992-03-23) 23 March 1992 (age 32) 2 0 Turkey Galatasaray
16 3MF Cengiz Ünder (1997-07-14) 14 July 1997 (age 27) 1 0 Turkey İstanbul Başakşehir
3MF Bilal Başaçıkoğlu (1995-03-26) 26 March 1995 (age 29) 0 0 Netherlands Feyenoord
17 4FW Burak Yılmaz (1985-07-15) 15 July 1985 (age 39) 48 22 China Beijing Guoan
9 4FW Cenk Tosun (1991-06-07) 7 June 1991 (age 33) 16 3 Turkey Beşiktaş
11 4FW Enes Ünal (1997-05-10) 10 May 1997 (age 27) 3 0 Netherlands Twente
4FW Mehmet Batdal (1986-02-24) 24 February 1986 (age 38) 0 0 Turkey İstanbul Başakşehir

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Turkey squad within the last twelve months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Ali Şaşal Vural (1990-07-10) 10 July 1990 (age 34) 0 0 Turkey Eskişehirspor UEFA Euro 2016 PRE
GK Muammer Zülfikar Yıldırım (1990-09-14) 14 September 1990 (age 34) 0 0 Turkey Mersin İdmanyurdu v.  Austria, 29 March 2016
DF Hakan Balta (1983-03-23) 23 March 1983 (age 41) 50 2 Turkey Galatasaray v.  Iceland, 9 October 2016
DF Caner Erkin (1988-10-04) 4 October 1988 (age 36) 51 2 Turkey Beşiktaş v.  Iceland, 9 October 2016
DF Serdar Aziz (1990-10-23) 23 October 1990 (age 33) 11 1 Turkey Galatasaray v.  Croatia, 5 September 2016
DF Ahmet Oğuz (1993-01-16) 16 January 1993 (age 31) 0 0 Turkey Gençlerbirliği v.  Croatia, 5 September 2016
MF Ozan Tufan (1995-03-23) 23 March 1995 (age 29) 31 3 Turkey Fenerbahçe v.  Iceland, 9 October 2016
MF Olcay Şahan (1987-05-26) 26 May 1987 (age 37) 27 2 Turkey Beşiktaş v.  Iceland, 9 October 2016
MF Emre Mor (1997-07-24) 24 July 1997 (age 27) 8 0 Germany Borussia Dortmund v.  Iceland, 9 October 2016
MF Yasin Öztekin (1987-03-19) 19 March 1987 (age 37) 6 0 Turkey Galatasaray v.  Iceland, 9 October 2016
MF Nuri Şahin (1988-09-05) 5 September 1988 (age 36) 50 2 Germany Borussia Dortmund v.  Croatia, 5 September 2016
MF Gökhan Töre (1992-01-20) 20 January 1992 (age 32) 26 0 England West Ham United v.  Croatia, 5 September 2016
MF Alper Potuk (1991-04-08) 8 April 1991 (age 33) 15 0 Turkey Fenerbahçe UEFA Euro 2016 PRE
MF Mahmut Tekdemir (1988-01-20) 20 January 1988 (age 36) 3 0 Turkey İstanbul Başakşehir UEFA Euro 2016 PRE
MF Kerim Frei (1993-11-19) 19 November 1993 (age 30) 5 0 Turkey Beşiktaş v.  Austria, 29 March 2016
FW Mevlüt Erdinç (1987-02-25) 25 February 1987 (age 37) 35 8 France Metz v.  Iceland, 9 October 2016

INJ Withdrew due to an injury.
PRE Preliminary squad.

Previous squads

Competitive record

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Turkey_national_football_team&oldid=752811733"