Turkey national football team


The Turkey national football team represents Turkey in men's international football and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Turkey. The team represents both FIFA and UEFA.
Turkey has qualified three times for the FIFA World Cup, in 1950, 1954, and 2002, although they withdrew from the 1950 event. Turkey has also qualified five times for the UEFA European Championship, in 1996, 2000, 2008, 2016, and 2020. They have reached the semi-finals of three major tournaments: the 2002 World Cup, the 2003 FIFA 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.

History

Early years

The Turkey national team played their first ever match against Romania in 1923, drawing 2–2. 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 were forced to withdraw from the tournament 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, however, Turkey did play Hungary in a friendly match in Istanbul, defeating what was one of the strongest teams of the era, 3–1. Lefter Küçükandonyadis, arguably one of the best Turkish strikers of all-time, scored 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 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.

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 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 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 qualified for Euro 1996, defeating both Switzerland and Sweden 2–1 en route 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.

Euro 2000

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.

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. Turkey qualified from the group stage with a 3–0 win against China PR after drawing 1–1 with Costa Rica.
Turkey then faced home team Japan in the second round, winning 1–0. 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. 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.
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. 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.

2003 FIFA Confederations Cup

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.

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.

Euro 2008

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 and the Czech Republic – both secured by late goals – brought qualification for the knockout stages. Again, Turkey knocked out a host nation – Switzerland – in the group stages for the second time.
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.
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. Both Russia and Turkey were given bronze medals in the dressing rooms after the semi-finals.

2010 FIFA World Cup

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.

Euro 2012

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.

2014 FIFA World Cup

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.

Euro 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.

2018 FIFA World Cup

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, 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.

2018–19 UEFA Nations League

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.

Euro 2020

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, only keeping Burak Yılmaz and Emre Belözoglu from the older generation. 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. The results against France dramatically improved Turkey's hopes to qualify out of the group. Turkish players performed a salute to the Turkish soldiers performing a military operation in northern Syria against the Kurdish separatist groups PYD/YPG, which is considered as terrorist by Ankara. The salute was criticised by French and European media outlets and politicians.
Surprisingly 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.

Kit suppliers

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

UEFA European Championship

UEFA Nations League

Olympic Games

FIFA Confederations Cup

Mediterranean Games

Balkan Cup

ECO Cup

All-time head-to-head record

The following table shows Turkey's all-time international record, correct as of 17 November 2019.
Opponents
137241414
310242
6600130
110032
220040
220041
167182218
751192
421187
113531718
622267
6024310
2376103643
100101
220061
321030
220070
110021
101011
10253710
104151523
'10127321
10253912
5311105
100101
5302910
11029133
8530174
211030
101011
155462422
9135717
5311125
7214611
202033
11821207
330050
144281731
142481123
7520142
101000
6402912
13049823
101011
210111
6600192
220061
6141109
100112
220080
7601136
110030
6510154
121020333
211032
12345913
110021
8521149
125251212
94231115
4310169
101000
1733111239
8206816
110021
143651627
2657142449
602427
4310161
330061
110042
110010
641183
210112
100102
7421134
'153012830
11146517
125431514
158342120
110070
514063
9432119
411256
100123
110020
6213710
'131210738
'101361426
Total 583225137221770822

Results and fixtures

2019

2020

2021

Players

Current squad

The following players have been called up for the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying matches against Iceland and Andorra, on 14 and 17 November 2019.
All caps and goals as of 17 November 2019 after match against Andorra.

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team within the last 12 months.
;Notes

Current technical staff

Previous squads

;FIFA World Cup squads
;FIFA Confederations Cup squads
;UEFA European Championship squads
;Summer Olympics squads
Turkey has developed several notable rivalries, the most well-known being with Croatia and Greece.
Turkey and Croatia have played each other 9 times, with their first encounter at Euro 1996; where both countries made their debuts in the opening match, which Croatia won 1–0. A well-remembered match between them was at Euro 2008, which Turkey won on penalties after a 1–1 deadlock even after extra-time. With the win, Turkey reached the semi-finals in only their third appearance overall at the Euro finals. The two teams faced each other in the 2012 Euro qualifying play-offs, with Croatia winning 3–0 in the first-leg in Istanbul, and advancing to the tournament finals following a 0–0 draw in the second-leg. The two teams faced each other once again in a European competition at Euro 2016, playing in the opening match of Group D; with Croatia winning 1–0 through a sensational Luka Modrić volley. Only three months after the match at the Euros, the two teams played in their opening match in Group I of 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying, which finished 1–1. Exactly one year after this, Turkey won the reverse fixture 1–0 at home, which played a key part in both countries' qualifying campaign, although Turkey would not qualify for World Cup while Croatia would go on to qualify and finish second in that edition.
Turkey also has a historical rivalry with Greece; having played them a total of 13 times, winning seven, drawing three and losing three games. Both countries have been described as "punching above their weight"; with Greece winning Euro 2004 despite being classified as underdogs prior to the competition, and Turkey followed-up their World Cup bronze medal in 2002 by advancing to the semi-finals of Euro 2008, where they were knocked out by Germany. Due to tension between the two countries and the dispute over Cyprus, coupled with several incidents occurring during matches between Turkish and Greek clubs, it has been described as one of the biggest international football rivalries.

Honours

Third place : 2002
Third place : 2003
Semi-finals : 2008

Summary

As of May 2019

Player history

Most capped players

Players in bold are still active, at least at club level. As of October 14, 2019.
#NameCareerCapsGoals
1Rüştü Reçber1994–20121200
2Hakan Şükür1992–200711251
3Bülent Korkmaz1990–20051023
4Emre Belözoğlu2000–20201019
5Arda Turan2006–10017
6Tugay Kerimoğlu1990–2007942
7Alpay Özalan1995–2005904
8Hamit Altıntop2004–2014827
9Mehmet Topal2008–812
10Tuncay2002–20108022

Top goalscorers

Goalscorers with an equal number of goals are ranked in chronological order of reaching the milestone. Bold indicates still active players. As of October 14, 2019.
#NameCareerGoalsCapsRate
1Hakan Şükür1992–2007
51
112
0.46
2Burak Yılmaz2006–
24
58
0.43
3Tuncay2003–2010
22
80
0.28
4Lefter Küçükandonyadis1948–1963
21
46
0.46
5Metin Oktay1956–1968
19
36
0.53
5Cemil Turan1969–1979
19
44
0.43
5Nihat Kahveci2000–2011
19
68
0.28
8Arda Turan2006–
17
100
0.17
9Cenk Tosun2013-
16
42
0.38
10Zeki Rıza Sporel1923–1932
15
16
0.94

Past managers

ManagerCareer StartCareer EndPlayedWonDrawnLostGFGAWin %
26/10/192326/10/192310102200.0
25/5/192412/9/192612507212941.7
17/7/192717/4/19328215142425.0
22/4/19324/11/193220023700.0
12/7/19361/8/1937301241000.0
23/4/194830/5/194821013250.0
2/8/19485/8/194821015350.0
28/11/194820/5/194953029860.0
20/11/194920/11/1949110070100.0
28/5/195028/10/195021017650.0
3/12/195010/6/195121014550.0
17/6/195121/11/195132013366.7
1/6/19528/6/195220111500.0
8/6/195223/6/19549324182133.3
17/10/195417/10/195410011500.0
3/4/195526/6/195520201100.0
18/12/195501/05/195652038916.7
01/05/195625/11/195620202200.0
5/4/19578/12/195742116450.0
4/5/195810/5/195973316542.9
8/6/19608/6/1960110042100.0
27/11/196016/5/196210406111040.0
10/10/196210/10/1962110030100.0
25/11/196216/12/196241213725.0
27/3/19639/10/196440220400.0
27/9/196420/12/196431116433.3
24/1/19659/5/1965400421300.0
21/7/196525/7/196521103150.0
9/10/196530/5/1966512231020.0
12/10/196617/1/196917548163229.4
30/4/196916/11/19696303131150.0
17/10/197014/11/1971611441716.7
5/12/19715/12/1971110010100.0
12/4/197231/10/19762981110384327.6
17/11/197617/11/197610101100.0
16/2/19775/10/1978132110112215.4
29/11/197815/10/198012516131541.7
3/12/198025/3/198120020300.0
15/4/19817/10/1981400401200.0
22/9/19824/4/1984175210153629.4
6/9/198414/11/1984511331320.0
22/12/19843/4/198531111333.3
1/5/198528/8/198520110200.0
11/9/198512/11/1986813431412.5
4/3/198716/12/1987611461616.7
16/3/198815/11/198911515161245.5
11/4/199011/4/199010010100.0
27/5/199028/4/1993274815225014.8
27/10/199319/6/1996331788473651.5
14/8/199624/6/20003111911453835.5
16/8/200018/2/200450231314725046.0
31/3/200431/3/200410102200.0
28/4/20048/6/200515843291453.3
17/8/200514/10/200958261814867139.7
3/3/201029/5/201043017375.0
1/8/201015/11/201116745181543.7
17/11/201120/08/201318648262633.3
22/8/201326/7/2017442789693862.0
2/8/201711/2/2019611451216.6
1/6/20191292122475.0

Decoration

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

Gallery