While the countdown for the FIFA 2026 World Cup continues, our national stars Kerem Aktürkoğlu and Orkun Kökçü made statements at the press conference held in Arizona. Here are the highlights from those statements…
Kerem Aktürkoğlu: I have no injuries
“I have no injuries, thank God we survived. It is a good camp. We are aware that our entire country has been waiting for this moment. We are also aware of what is expected from us. We are preparing in the best possible way. I hope it will be a very good tournament for our country. We want to represent our country as a team and as a game.”
Orkun Kökçü: It’s like a family atmosphere
“We are very good in a friendly, family atmosphere. Everyone gets along well. This is reflected in the training. We are preparing in a very fun way. We are ready. We will prepare even better. We are looking forward to the first match.”
Orkun Kökçü: I hope we can live too
“You hear the stories of 2002; my father and uncles tell them. Of course, I couldn’t survive, we participated in the tournament 24 years later. Since I was born and raised in the Netherlands, the Netherlands reached the final in 2010, I saw the excitement there. I was dreaming that one day I would experience this with Turkey. Now we are on this stage. I hope we can experience it too.”
Kerem Aktürkoğlu: It was all our dream
“We are here after 24 years, we grew up with the stories of our brothers being third in the world. It was a dream for all of us. It is a great pride to have achieved this and to have the opportunity to represent our country in the World Cup. Just coming here and participating should not be an achievement for a country like us. After the European Championship, we are here with our football and as a team, we reflect our own character and football on the field in every way. This reflects positively on the results. It came to this tournament with a very good form chart. After 24 years, we are aware of what our country and our fans expect. Meeting these expectations. “No matter who is on the field, there will be 85 million behind them. Whoever takes the field will represent our country in the best way possible and I hope we can show it to the whole world.”
Kerem Aktürkoğlu: No matter who plays…
“I am a winger, but I play forward in the national team with coach Montella. I have no complaints, I feel good. I think I contribute positively to the team, our coach also thinks so. It is important to contribute no matter who plays, and I am happy when I contribute to the team. I feel comfortable and good as a forward.”
Orkun Kökçü: If the teacher gives a chance…
“Everyone is important in this team. No matter what kind of 11 the coach chooses, he is behind the coach, behind this decision. I know what I can contribute to the team, I know my characteristics. If the coach gives me the chance, I want to show it in the best possible way.”
Kerem Aktürkoğlu: The goal in the Kosovo match…
“The goal in the Kosovo match… The important thing was to qualify for the World Cup. Of course, everyone goes to the match with the dream of scoring a goal and making an assist. As offensive players, we are happy when we contribute to the score, and our performance satisfies people. I also told Orkun about the goal, I was just worried about being offside. I touched it thinking the ball was going out. Orkun said ‘I know’, he just said ‘Are you offside?’ Orkun’s assist was with my goal, but the player who played that day, kulübede oturan, tribünde olan, teknik heyet… Hep söylüyorum. Biz harika bir takımız. Müthiş arkadaşlıklar var içeride, herkes birbiriyle çok iyi anlaşıyor. 12 ayın 12’sinde de birlikteymiş gibi bir sinerji var. Ben 6 senedir milli takıma geliyorum, son 2-3 senedir harika bir arkadaşlık var. Bu başarılara da etki ediyor. Herkesin hayali var, çocukken milli takım hayali kuruyorduk. Dünya Kupası ütopik bir hayaldi. Akıllarımızdan silinmiş 2002 Dünya Kupası. Bunların “It’s great to dream of it and to be here. Just being in the World Cup is not enough, it shouldn’t be enough. I hope we represent our country very well.”
Orkun Kökçü: We are finally here
“The only thing I wondered about in the goal position in the Kosovo match was whether it was offside or not. It’s the same for me. It doesn’t matter who scored, we participated in the World Cup. We were happy with it. There was never any discussion about the goal. Let’s clarify that. The only thing I was curious about was whether Kerem was offside or not. In the end it didn’t happen. It was a very important goal. We had only one goal in this process, and that was to participate in the World Cup. We achieved that with that goal. There was still 20 minutes left, but That happiness was beautiful. I was born and raised in the Netherlands. When I saw the excitement there, I was dreaming that we would also participate with the Turkish National Team. Finally, we are here. We want not only to participate, but to achieve something in this tournament, I’m sure.
Orkun Kökçü: I don’t think there will be a problem
“There is no special training due to the heat, we work in the evening. The weather is very hot, but we have been here for 10 days, we think we are used to it. These are the things in football, we should not use it as an excuse. We are working well. I think there will be no problem.”
Kerem Aktürkoğlu: There are difficult conditions for everyone
“We participated in the Club World Cup with Orkun here with Benfica. It is difficult conditions, but these are difficult conditions for everyone. It would be better to play football in different, cooler weather, but these are the opportunities we have. It is warmer here than in Miami. Our matches in the group will be in the evening, we are lucky in this respect. Complaining about the weather will not get us anywhere, we have got used to the conditions. We have been here for 10 days, some things have settled down.”
Kerem Aktürkoğlu: We couldn’t get used to it yet
“After the Venezuela match, we talked with our coach and among ourselves. Some things do not happen the way you want in the friendly matches. We had not yet gotten used to the weather conditions. There is a lack of motivation with player changes in the friendly matches. The lessons to be learned there were important. We did. We started the preparations for the Australia match long ago. We take both the tournament and our opponent very seriously. We want to be successful here. We want to reflect the quality within the team on the field. We have a very intense training process and tempo.”
Orkun Kökçü: We have a busy schedule
“Maybe there was a slight lack of concentration. I say to myself, let it be in the preparation match, not in the group matches. It was hot weather. We had just arrived in Miami, it was an adaptation process. After the match, the coach emphasized what he wanted more clearly. We have maybe 3 meetings a day. We have an intense tempo. We are doing our best to show the game we want. I believe we will show a better game in the first group match.”
Orkun Kökçü: Kenan will be ready
“Are you a Juventus fan? I think Kenan has a slight injury at the moment. We don’t know exactly. We all know how talented Kenan is. We need everyone. I hope we will see Kenan among us soon, like other players, Kenan is very important. I think he will be ready, I am not a doctor or a physiotherapist, but he will be ready.”
Kerem Aktürkoğlu: We know Kenan’s quality
“We all know Kenan’s quality. It is very important for us. As far as I know, his injury is getting better and he has started training. Since we are not doctors, I do not know when he will return. I sincerely say that we have very good players who are young and have potential. We are all aware of it. I hope he will be with us and Kenan will make important contributions in every match. It does not really matter who plays, whoever plays will be behind 85 million people. I hope everyone will be fit and able to play.”
Orkun Kökçü: We want to write the best story
“I was at Benfica for a year, I think the last day came, it was stressful for Kerem. I was sure that he would be successful when he first came. I knew his quality and what he needed at Benfica. When he arrived, he scored goals in 10 consecutive matches. We got along very well at Benfica, both on and off the field. It was a good period. We also played together in the World Club Championship for 1-2 weeks. Now we are here. We want to write the best story here. We are doing our best, everyone is focused. “It’s a great feeling to be here again with Kerem.”
Kerem Aktürkoğlu: I hope we will succeed once again
“It’s been a year, I’m just realizing it. Orkun and I attended the Club World Cup camp for Benfica right after the national team, it really wore us out. It was a good year with Orkun, we returned to our country with a good season. We continue to write a story with the national team. We want to end this story successfully. The World Cup is very important for our country. We wrote a good story in the European Championship, I hope we can write the same in the World Cup. It is a great pleasure to play with Orkun, I love him very much.”
Kerem Aktürkoğlu: We Turks play with emotion
“The thing I will remember most about Arizona is that it is very hot, it is very tiring. It is a beautiful place, we have a beautiful facility and hotel. It hosts us very well. The friendly match we played with the USA was nice, we won. The USA also played very well. It was a difficult match. Now we will play against them in the World Cup. It will be much different, much more difficult. We are here to reflect our own quality, our own game, our emotions. As Turks, we are a nation that plays and acts with our emotions. This means on the field. “It reflects very well. I hope we will win against the USA and achieve the result we want.”
Orkun Kökçü: They may be afraid of us
“I agree that they see us as a ‘dark horse’. As a team, we are full of quality players. We have players who are capable of doing something extra at any time. They may be afraid of us!”
HERE IS THAT PRESS CONFERENCE