A nation rejoices
©IMAGO
While Italian football is on the rocks, there is boundless celebration in Turkey: the nation has qualified for a World Cup for the first time since 2002 after beating Kosovo 1-0. “We have achieved our dreams and are happy. It is an incredible feeling that cannot be described in words,” said coach Vincenzo Montella after the game. Many Turkish players were not even born when they took part in the last World Cup.
“I’m incredibly proud. I told the boys before the game that they did everything they could,” said Montella. Kerem Aktürkoğlu scored the golden goal in a hard-fought game in the 53rd minute. After that there was a long period of trepidation, as Kosovo around Fisnik Asllani pushed for an equalizer. “We closed our ears to everything that came from outside. We managed to do that today. It should be a gift to our entire nation,” the goalscorer cheered after the game. “Most of us don’t remember 2002. But now we will encourage our young compatriots to dream with our brothers. I hope we can do that there too.”
Turkey’s passionate fans had to wait 24 years to take part in the World Cup – it is only the third in the association’s history. At the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, they surprisingly made it to the semi-finals, where they were defeated by eventual world champions Brazil. With stars like Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Arda Güler and Kenan Yıldız, hopes for a successful tournament are high. Güler and Yıldız, the most valuable players in the squad, were not yet born in 2002. A relieved Yıldız said: “We will celebrate tonight. We are experiencing incredible feelings right now. We wanted to go to the World Cup. We did everything we could for that. We succeeded.”
Orkun Kökçü, assister for Aktürkoğlu, confirmed his colleagues’ feelings of happiness: “I was one year old in 2002. We always heard stories, we watched recordings. As a team, our goal is to pass on these feelings to the younger generation. We are a family. Everyone gives their best when the time comes.” In Group D, Turkey will face Australia, Paraguay and hosts USA. Given the group’s highest squad value at 440 million euros, Montella’s team starts slightly favored.
