Turkey national football team

One of the early formations in 1922.

Turkey against Romania in 1923.

The Turkish National Team's first game was against Romania, played on 26 October 1923 at Taksim Stadium in Istanbul, a 2-2 draw.[15] 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 to Czechoslovakia, 5–2.

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

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, however, Turkey did play Hungary in a friendly match in Istanbul, defeating what was one of the strongest teams of the era, 3–1.[16] Lefter Küçükandonyadis, arguably one of the best Turkish strikers of all time, scored two goals during the tournament.

Turkey against Netherlands in 1958

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 UEFA European Championship qualifiers, but the team was a point too short to qualify for both UEFA 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 match. Prominent players in this period included Rıdvan Dilmen, Oğuz Çetin, Rıza Çalımbay, Feyyaz Uçar, and European Golden Boot winner Tanju Çolak.

In 1990, 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 included 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. The appointment of Piontek was a recommended move by another coach, Jupp Derwall, who had coached Galatasaray for three seasons. Derwall is regarded as the revolutionizer of Turkish football, since his introduction of training techniques and tactical ideas to the Turkish game also heavily influenced the national team.

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

Turkey qualified for Euro 1996, defeating both Switzerland and Sweden 2–1 during qualification. 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.

Although Turkey failed to qualify for the 1998 World Cup, they qualified for Euro 2000 after winning a play-off against the Republic of 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 UEFA European Championship 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.

Turkish national football team on an Azerbaijan stamp for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

For the 2002 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.[17] Turkey qualified from the group stage with a 3–0 win against China PR after drawing 1–1 with Costa Rica.[18][19]

Turkey then faced home team Japan in the second round, winning 1–0.[20] 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 co-hosts South Korea.[21][22][23] 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.[24][25] 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.[26] Rüştü Reçber, Alpay Özalan and Hasan Şaş were all included in the All-Star Team, with 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.

In the summer of 2003, Turkey reached third place at the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup. In the group stages, Turkey defeated the United States 2–1 before losing to Cameroon 0–1. In their final group match, 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 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.

The Turkish team qualified for Euro 2004 on play-offs due to a win to Latvia after finishing first 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.

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 qualified for their first international tournament in six years by finishing second behind Greece in Euro 2008 qualifying Group C to reach the Euro 2008 final stages. 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 the Czech Republic (3–2) – both secured by late goals – brought qualification for the knockout stages.[27][28][29] Again, Turkey knocked out a host nation – Switzerland – in the group stages for the second time.[30]

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 head 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 defeated Croatia in penalties, 3–1.[31]

Turkey 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 third by default after losing 3–2 with a last minute goal by Philipp Lahm.[32] Both Russia and Turkey were given bronze medals in the dressing rooms after the semi-finals.

Turkey against France on 5 June 2009.

Turkey were drawn in UEFA Group 5 together with Armenia, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Estonia and Spain. 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.[33]

The Turkish team during the UEFA Euro 2012 qualification.

Turkey were drawn in Group A in qualification for 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. On 14 November 2012, Turkey celebrated their 500th match in a friendly game played against Denmark at the Türk Telekom Arena, Istanbul, which ended in a 1–1 draw. Before the match, footballers and coaches, who contributed to the national team's success in the past, were honoured. Turkish pop singer Hadise, who wore a national team jersey with the number 500, performed a small concert.[34][35]

Turkey were drawn in Group D in qualification for the 2014 World Cup, together with Andorra, Estonia, Hungary, the Netherlands and Romania, finishing fourth. 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 2–0 defeat against the Netherlands ended hopes of qualification.

Turkey against Austria on 29 March 2016.

Turkey were drawn in Group A in the qualification campaign for the 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 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, 2–0. They were minutes away from reaching the last 16, until a late winner for Ireland against Italy meant that the latter instead qualified as one of the best third-placed teams. Despite elimination, youngster Emre Mor's skillful display and assist during the game revealed a hopeful future for Turkish football.

Turkey were drawn in UEFA Group I for the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign. together with Croatia, Finland, Iceland, Kosovo and Ukraine. During the qualifiers, head coach Fatih Terim stood down after an off-field incident,[36] and 72-year-old former Romania manager Mircea Lucescu took over. After eight games, Turkey stood a strong chance of qualifying for the tournament, but a 0–3 defeat against Iceland at home ended automatic qualification hopes. After a 2–2 draw against Finland the team finished fourth in Group I.

Turkey was drawn with Russia and Sweden in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League B and Turkey had a poor performance which led the country to finish bottom. At the first game held at home against 2018 World Cup host and quarter-finalist Russia, Turkey lost 1–2 despite an equalizer by Serdar Aziz. Turkey then put up its best performance in the League, winning 3–2 against Sweden right in Swedish soil. However, Turkey could not capitalize on this opportunity and lost 0–2 to Russia in Sochi before suffering a humiliating 0–1 home loss to Sweden, thus initially sent Turkey to League C. However, UEFA rule changes meant Turkey was allowed to remain in League B.

Turkey were drawn in group H in the qualifying stage along with the 2018 FIFA World Cup champions France, as well as Iceland, Albania, Moldova and Andorra. Veteran coach Şenol Güneş revolutionised the team, with many young talents, combining them with experienced players like Burak Yılmaz and Emre Belözoglu. The team restructuring proved to be genius, as Turkey had one of the best campaigns in recent history.

Turkey managed to achieve a 2–0 victory against the group favourites France in Konya and later a 1–1 draw at Stade de France. Turkey struggled against the group underdogs Andorra in their first match against them, winning by a 89th-minute goal at the Vodafone Arena in Istanbul. Turkey's only defeat in the group came against Iceland in Reykjavik, losing 2–1. The defeat came after ill-treatment of the Turkish group at the Iceland customs, keeping them at the airport for 3 hours. This was followed by an Icelandic supporter holding a toilet brush to team captain Emre Belozoglu as a pretend microphone during an interview. The events were heavily criticised by the Turkish and European media. In an interview Turkish Coach Şenol Güneş, said that had come here 40 years ago, nothing had changed about the stadium and the country, except that some Icelandic people had lost the hospitality they had 40 years ago. Turkey entered matchday 9 against Iceland as group leaders with 19 points. Turkey and Iceland were drawn 0–0 at Turk Telekom Arena in Istanbul. Though unable to defeat Iceland and losing the first place to France, a draw was enough to secure Turkey a spot in Euro 2020 finals, ahead of their away match against Andorra.[37]

Turkey had the honor of opening the Euro 2020 Finals but it soon turned to be a night to forget for the Turkish. Turkey kicked off the European Championship with a 3–0 loss against Italy in Group A at the Olympic Stadium with Ciro Immobile and Lorenzo Insigne on target. Roberto Mancini's side had been frustrated by Turkey's defensive approach in the first half but broke through in the 53rd minute when a hard-hit cross from Domenico Berardi flew in off Turkey defender Merih Demiral for an own goal. They went to lose the next two games from both Switzerland and Wales, losing all three games in a row alongside debutants North Macedonia.

After qualifying for Euro 2020, Turkey entered with momentum, even though they had to face old foe Russia, alongside Hungary and Serbia in the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League B.

However, despite all these improvements, Turkey performed poorly in their two opening games in September 2020. The first game against Hungary at home saw Turkey suffer a 0–1 loss by a free kick from Dominik Szoboszlai. Going to Belgrade against Serbia, after repeated Serbian pressure, Turkey had a one-man advantage following Aleksandar Kolarov's red card, however the Turks failed to capitalise and were held goalless. This damaged their chances of qualifying for League A, as their next opponents in October will be Russia (who had had a strong start) and Hungary. The early poor performance could also represent a detrimental effect for Turkey, as this season's Nations League was used for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification process.

Turkey continued to find its first win in the Nations League. Against Russia in Moscow, a team which Turkey has failed to win in Russian soil since its last win at 1966 and still finding its first win over the Russians since 1975 in general, Turkey once again failed to register a win, though they got an encouraging 1–1 draw thanked for Kenan Karaman's equaliser. Yet, the Turkish side disappointed with only a 2–2 draw over Serbia at home soil.

November 2020 proved to be very important as Turkey must gain important wins in order to stay or even better getting possible promotion. Their first game in this month's Nations League was against Russia, but Denis Cheryshev scored an early lead making the Turkish side looked hapless. Yet, a red card to Andrey Semyonov proved to be a game changer, and with a one-man advantage, the Turks turned the deficit to finally break down its winless run against Russia with a 3–2 home win. The Turks then traveled to Hungary with hope that a win against the Hungarians could mean possible promotion, at least if Russia lost to Serbia. However, while Russia suffered a humiliating 0–5 defeat away in Belgrade, Turkey failed to gain the advantage and instead lost 2–0 by the Hungarians, despite late pressure to find an equalizer in the second half. That meant Turkey and Serbia were tied on points, but with the Serbians scored two goals away from home in contrast to Turkey's failure to do the same in Belgrade, Turkey was relegated for the second time (the first season saw Turkey stayed due to Nations League overhauls) to 2022–23 UEFA Nations League C. Such outcome also meant Turkey will have to fight in order to get a direct 2022 FIFA World Cup ticket as play-off qualification appeared to be slim with their relegation, in which the 2022 World Cup qualifiers will occur in March 2021, which they did.

The following players were called up for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying match against Croatia on 12 October 2023 and Latvia on 15 October 2023.[64][65]

Caps and goals are correct as of 15 October 2023, after the match against  Latvia.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Altay Bayındır	(1998-04-14) 14 April 1998	6	0	Manchester United
12	1GK	Ertaç Özbir	(1989-10-25) 25 October 1989	0	0	Adana Demirspor
23	1GK	Uğurcan Çakır	(1996-04-05) 5 April 1996	25	0	Trabzonspor
	1GK	Doğan Alemdar	(2002-10-29) 29 October 2002	2	0	Rennes
2	2DF	Zeki Çelik	(1997-02-17) 17 February 1997	40	2	Roma
3	2DF	Samet Akaydin	(1994-03-13) 13 March 1994	3	0	Fenerbahçe
4	2DF	Cenk Özkacar	(2000-10-06) 6 October 2000	6	0	Valencia
13	2DF	Eren Elmalı	(2000-07-07) 7 July 2000	9	0	Trabzonspor
14	2DF	Abdülkerim Bardakcı	(1994-09-07) 7 September 1994	4	1	Galatasaray
20	2DF	Ferdi Kadıoğlu	(1999-10-07) 7 October 1999	12	0	Fenerbahçe
22	2DF	Kaan Ayhan	(1994-11-10) 10 November 1994	53	5	Galatasaray
	2DF	Merih Demiral	(1998-03-05) 5 March 1998	41	2	Al-Ahli
	2DF	Rayyan Baniya	(1999-02-18) 18 February 1999	0	0	Trabzonspor
	2DF	Rıdvan Yılmaz	(2001-05-21) 21 May 2001	6	0	Rangers
5	3MF	Salih Özcan	(1998-01-11) 11 January 1998	5	0	Borussia Dortmund
6	3MF	Emre Akbaba	(1992-10-04) 4 October 1992	6	3	Adana Demirspor
8	3MF	İrfan Kahveci	(1995-07-15) 15 July 1995	29	2	Fenerbahçe
10	3MF	Hakan Çalhanoğlu (captain)	(1994-02-08) 8 February 1994	82	17	Internazionale
15	3MF	Kenan Yıldız	(2005-05-04) 4 May 2005	1	0	Juventus
16	3MF	İsmail Yüksek	(1999-01-26) 26 January 1999	10	1	Fenerbahçe
18	3MF	Berkan Kutlu	(1998-01-25) 25 January 1998	8	0	Genoa
	3MF	Orkun Kökçü	(2000-12-29) 29 December 2000	24	2	Benfica
7	4FW	Kerem Aktürkoğlu	(1998-10-21) 21 October 1998	24	5	Galatasaray
9	4FW	Cenk Tosun	(1991-06-07) 7 June 1991	50	20	Beşiktaş
11	4FW	Barış Alper Yılmaz	(2000-05-23) 23 May 2000	9	1	Galatasaray
17	4FW	Yusuf Sarı	(1998-11-20) 20 November 1998	2	0	Adana Demirspor
19	4FW	Bertuğ Yıldırım	(2002-01-12) 12 January 2002	3	2	Rennes
21	4FW	Yunus Akgün	(2000-07-07) 7 July 2000	7	2	Leicester City

The following players have been called up for the team within the last twelve months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Mert Günok	(1989-03-01) 1 March 1989	27	0	Beşiktaş	v.  Japan, 12 September 2023
GK	Muhammed Şengezer	(1997-01-05) 5 January 1997	0	0	İstanbul Başakşehir	v.  Wales, 19 June 2023
DF	Ozan Kabak	(2000-03-25) 25 March 2000	23	2	1899 Hoffenheim	v.  Croatia, 12 October 2023INJ
DF	Çağlar Söyüncü	(1996-05-23) 23 May 1996	54	2	Atlético Madrid	v.  Japan, 12 September 2023
DF	Mert Müldür	(1999-04-03) 3 April 1999	19	1	Fenerbahçe	v.  Japan, 12 September 2023
DF	Onur Bulut	(1994-04-16) 16 April 1994	3	0	Beşiktaş	v.  Japan, 12 September 2023
DF	Kazımcan Karataş	(2003-01-16) 16 January 2003	0	0	Galatasaray	v.  Japan, 12 September 2023
DF	Talha Sanuç	(1999-12-17) 17 December 1999	1	0	Beşiktaş	v.  Croatia, 28 March 2023
MF	Salih Uçan	(1994-01-06) 6 January 1994	2	0	Beşiktaş	v.  Japan, 12 September 2023
MF	Arda Güler	(2005-02-25) 25 February 2005	4	1	Real Madrid	v.  Wales, 19 June 2023
MF	Levin Öztunalı	(1996-03-15) 15 March 1996	0	0	Hamburger SV	training camp, May 2023
MF	Abdülkadir Ömür	(1999-06-25) 25 June 1999	10	0	Trabzonspor	v.  Croatia, 28 March 2023
MF	Mehmet-Can Aydın	(2002-02-09) 9 February 2002	0	0	Trabzonspor	v.  Croatia, 28 March 2023
MF	Emirhan İlkhan	(2004-06-01) 1 June 2004	0	0	İstanbul Başakşehir	v.  Czech Republic, 19 November 2022
MF	Berkay Özcan	(1998-02-15) 15 February 1998	7	0	İstanbul Başakşehir	v.  Czech Republic, 19 November 2022
MF	Deniz Türüç	(1993-01-29) 29 January 1993	12	2	İstanbul Başakşehir	v.  Czech Republic, 19 November 2022
FW	Halil Dervişoğlu	(1999-12-08) 8 December 1999	16	6	Galatasaray	v.  Japan, 12 September 2023
FW	Cengiz Ünder	(1997-07-14) 14 July 1997	50	16	Fenerbahçe	v.  Japan, 12 September 2023
FW	Umut Nayir	(1993-06-28) 28 June 1993	4	1	Fenerbahçe	v.  Armenia, 8 September 2023INJ
FW	Kenan Karaman	(1994-03-05) 5 March 1994	31	6	Schalke 04	v.  Wales, 19 June 2023
FW	Umut Bozok	(1996-09-19) 19 September 1996	1	0	Trabzonspor	v.  Latvia, 16 June 2023
FW	Enes Ünal	(1997-05-10) 10 May 1997	32	3	Getafe	v.  Croatia, 28 March 2023INJ
FW	Deniz Undav	(1996-07-19) 19 July 1996	0	0	VfB Stuttgart	training camp, March 2023
FW	Doğukan Sinik	(1999-01-21) 21 January 1999	6	2	Hull City	v.  Czech Republic, 19 November 2022
FW	Emre Mor	(1997-07-24) 24 July 1997	15	1	Fenerbahçe	v.  Scotland, 16 November 2022 INJ
Notes PRE = Preliminary squad/standby. INJ = Not part of the current squad due to injury. SUS = Player is suspended. RET = Retired from international football. COV = The player is not part of the current squad due to testing positive for COVID-19.

As of 12 October 2023[67]

Players in bold are still available to play in Turkey national team.

Selçuk İnan scored Turkey's 700th overall goal in November 2015

As of 29 September 2020:[68][69]

Rank	Date	Scorer	Opponent	Score
1st	26 October 1923	Zeki Rıza Sporel	Romania	2–2
100th	23 June 1954	Mustafa Ertan	West Germany	2–7
200th	14 February 1973	Osman Arpacıoğlu	Algeria	4–0
300th	27 February 1991	Uğur Tütüneker	Yugoslavia	1–1
400th	27 March 1999	Sergen Yalçın	Moldova	2–0
500th	9 October 2004	Fatih Tekke	Kazakhstan	4–0
600th	5 September 2009	Arda Turan	Estonia	4–2
700th	3 September 2015	Selçuk İnan	Latvia	1–1
800th	13 November 2021	Kerem Aktürkoğlu	Gibraltar	6–0

Turkey at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Turkey at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam.

1968–1988 see Turkey national amateur football team. Football at the Summer Olympics has been an under-23 tournament since 1992.

Olympic Games record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad
1924	Round 1	13th	1	0	0	1	2	5	Squad
1928		14th	1	0	0	1	1	7	Squad
1936		15th	1	0	0	1	0	1	Squad
1948	Quarter-finals	6th	2	1	0	1	5	3	Squad
1952		8th	2	1	0	1	3	8	Squad
1956	Withdrew
1960	Round 1	14th	3	0	1	2	3	10	Squad
1964	Did not qualify
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984	Withdrew
1988	Did not qualify
Since 1992	See Turkey national under-23 football team
Total	Quarter-finals	6/14	10	2	1	7	14	34	—

In 2002, the national team was honored with the Turkish "State Medal of Distinguished Service" for their third place achievement at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. All the team members, coaches and officials were given medals.[70]