“You can’t beat your naivety”
Ex-national player stunned after Turkish exit from the World Cup
June 20, 2026 – 8:20 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
After just two games, Turkey’s exit from the World Cup is sealed. Ex-national striker Halil Altıntop was served accordingly.
First the 0:2 against Australia, then the 0:1 against Paraguay: Turkey is at the WM eliminated. After just two games it is clear that coach Vincenzo Montella’s team will finish Group D in fourth place. A bitter disappointment for the European Championship quarter-finalists from two years ago.
Ex-national striker Halil Altıntop was served accordingly. He said on MagentaTV: “I have a lot of question marks. The disappointment is very big because the team has a lot of individual quality. You have to let that sink in first.” Altıntop was stunned by the team’s performance, which played an entire half with the advantage. “I hoped so, but nothing has changed. Whether they were one more man or one less, nothing happened in the Turkish team,” he summed up. “That’s even more frightening.”
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Turkey conceded the decisive goal in the second minute. After a mistake in the build-up to the game, Paraguay quickly switched gears and scored a remarkable goal from distance. “The goal right at the beginning reflects so much,” said Altıntop and explained: “Today is like a final, you lost the first game and you have to score. And then you start a game like this, you want to play out from the back and you make such a mistake.” The goal reminded him of the 2-0 loss against Australia. “Loss of the ball, moment of change, order lost, boom, the bell rings,” was his conclusion. The behavior of the Turkish players “cannot be surpassed in terms of naivety.”
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Former German international Jonas Hofmann agreed with him and also criticized the lack of efficiency in front of the Paraguayan goal. “The chances were there, but they didn’t take advantage of them well,” he said, recalling Can Uzun’s great chance in the 89th minute when he didn’t place the ball well enough on goal. “This is almost a must-goal,” said Hofmann.
Turkey will go home after the third group game against the USA next Friday. It is unclear whether coach Vincenzo Montella will still be in office afterwards. The Italian was already in the firing line after the first game. Montella described the harsh public criticism as “very disappointing” and called for solidarity and respect for his players. After the new defeat, that criticism will hardly be quieter.