Şenol Güneş, who attended the Ordinary Financial General Assembly of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) held in Ankara, stated that he thanked everyone from TFF President İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu, to the board of directors, coach Vincenzo Montella, players and technical team, who made it possible for the National Football Team to participate in the World Cup after 24 years.
Şenol Güneş stated that it is very important for Turkish football to participate in the World Cup and that although there are some problems, they are on a good path to become an international competitor.
Reminding that they came third in the 2002 World Football Cup with the National Football Team, Şenol Güneş said, “We were alone when we went to the World Cup in 2002, and we were crowded when we returned. At that time, I said, ‘We became a ‘competitor’ in world football, we came third as a world football country. Yes, we came third, but we could not be registered as a world football country.” he said.
For this reason, Güneş emphasized that the Turkish football structure should be analyzed and evaluated well and continued as follows:
“We have to evaluate the situation of the economy, administrative, technical, legal, club structure, coaches, players, managers, media, referees, all of them, and come together again after the 2026 World Cup and make 5-year and 10-year plans. You can include everything from economy and administration. We see that the TFF President has also directed his management in this direction. Previous administrations have also done good things; coaches, players, everyone, all of us… The important thing is that this country achieves success and the people of this country are happy. “Our people, both in Hakkari and Edirne, can be happy with the success of football. We need to thank our players, staff and everyone who provides this happiness through you.”
“QUARTER FINAL IS POSSIBLE IN THE WORLD CUP”
Emphasizing that the National Football Team has a way to reach the quarter-finals in the 2026 World Cup, Güneş said, “Since 48 teams participated in the 2026 World Cup and we have a high chance of getting into the top 3, we see ourselves first on paper, but I say that it is possible for us to go to the quarter-finals in this group, where you can most likely get into the top 3 when you get into the top 3. But I have always looked at it that way throughout my life; the first step of the ladder is to get out of the group, after that it is the other matches. All the players playing in this team.” “Our players are young but experienced players who play in the big teams of Europe. Our coach has also been to the World Cup before, he has experience as a player in 2002.” he said.
Explaining that Türkiye will leave its mark in the cup and set an example, Güneş said:
“The TFF President is also excited. We got out of the groups and participated in the World Cup without reflecting any problems to the outside. I hope there will not be any problems there. The management and the president have a lot of work to do in that regard. Because participating here was important, the first stage. After joining, representing well and our principled behavior should be an example because you draw the image of a country. This is the biggest promotion. I think we will leave positive traces with the game we play on the field and with our behavior. We have a team that shows how successful the Turkish people can be when given the opportunity. “I hope we will all meet them happily when we return. We will meet here again and talk about all the problems.”