Our National Football Team will play their first match against Armenia and Croatia in the EURO 2024 European qualifiers. Camp will start in Riva for these matches. National Team Coach Stefan Kuntz also answered the questions of the press members before the camp.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM KUNTZ’S STATEMENTS ARE:
We should definitely be at the European Championships in Germany next year. You can expect this. I want this so much. As a German, I want to represent the Turkish National Team in Germany. Since we came as a team, we have taken good steps, we are developing well.
We have many journeys ahead of us. Here we know that we have to beat teams that are superior to us in the FIFA ranking. Croatia managed to reach the last 4 in two major tournaments. The players in our team are at a level that can go to EURO 2024 in terms of quality and performance.
“WE STRIVED FOR THEM TO SELECT THE TURKISH NATIONAL TEAM”
In addition to Salih Özcan and Mehmet Can, we made great efforts for Ferdi to choose the Turkish National Team. We convinced them that it would be better for their careers. When we talked to the management about what we can do better going forward, we also discussed this. Hamit Bey also knows very well from his old times. They had European offices in their time. There were observers. We were also consulting on this issue.
“HE HAD A CLEAR ATTITUDE TO THE NATIONAL TEAM”
Mehmet Can has never played at the level of the Turkish National Team. It will take some getting used to here. The reason we included it here is that it contributes to the family atmosphere here. He could have chosen the Germany Hope National Team, but he had a clear stance on the national team.
For the time being, we do not plan to recruit another player to replace Tayyip Talha.
“SALİH UÇAN APPROVED ME”
There were unpleasant statements about Salih Uçan. Salih called me and we talked about the perspectives of both sides and our thoughts. In this speech, he himself apologized to me. So I told him what he did was right. According to Salih Uçan’s performance, we will decide whether he will join the National Team or not.
“AS HALF-TURKISH…”
Issues between Armenia and countries, how the earthquake affected our players and the fact that Ramadan will be in the middle of the camp are new things for me. As a half-Turk, I gathered information about these issues and tried to prepare the team in the best way possible. Our basic structure needs to be solid. The stronger we are, the more advantageous we will be against the opponents we will encounter.
“IRFAN CAN’S HARD TIMES…”
We can say that İrfan Can is also going through a difficult time, but he is an important player for us. We included İsmail Yüksek on the list before the Sevilla match. Barış Alper also takes time and improved himself. Umut Nayir, for example, shows a good performance.
“ARDA GULER TAKE SMALL STEPS”
Arda Güler has taken small steps since November. We chose these players because we think that everyone we have added to the squad today can contribute to the team.
“I NEED TO KNOW MERT”
If you are playing in a period under normal conditions, it is advantageous to play with one obvious goalkeeper. Please give me a few days. Mert is coming for the first time in our term. I need to know him. It will become clear after a few days whether we play with a single goalkeeper or with a rotation.
“OUR HOPE IS TO STAY IN EURO 2024”
We were happy to qualify for the World Cup qualifying opportunities, we weren’t happy because we couldn’t beat Portugal. The subject I’m happy with took it from C to B in the Nations League. 4 matches in June pleased me. I was not satisfied with the last 2 games in the Nations League. We tried a lot of things in the last practice match. I was very satisfied there. The only thing I would be happy about about EURO 2024 is that we attend it.
“It’s not too late for UMUT NAYIR”
What I said when I saw Umut Nayir; I was selected for the German national team at the age of 29. I played 25 matches, but I became the European champion once. It’s never too late.