World Cup 2026: That’s why Turkey is a force to be reckoned with at the World Cup

As of: June 13, 2026 • 1:29 p.m

The Turkish national team has grown over the years. After the convincing European Championship 2024, coach Vincenzo Montella’s team also wants to make their World Cup comeback successful after 24 years.

The importance of participating in the 2026 World Cup for Turkey was made clear by the team’s farewell in Istanbul. The main sponsor organized a huge car parade with thousands of fans, for which the city and state closed entire streets and sections of highway.

On their way to the airport, the two team buses first drove through a line of dozens of cars – and were then followed until they arrived by an almost endless line of cars decorated with Turkish flags.

The enthusiasm and anticipation for the 2026 World Cup knows no bounds. After 1954 and 2002, it is only the third time that the team has ever taken part in a final tournament. The Turks sensationally came third in Japan and South Korea.

Association President Hacıosmanoglu demands group victory

How far can it go this time? In Group D with the USA, Australia and Paraguay, the team around captain Hakan Calhanoglu has the best chance of making it to the round of 16. And it doesn’t have to end there either.

At the European Championships in Germany, Calhanoglu and Co. returned to the international football stage. Arda Güler (Real Madrid), Kenan Yildiz (Juventus Turin) and Co. stormed into the quarter-finals as the youngest team in the tournament (in terms of players used). There, Mert Müldür’s own goal finally sealed the end against the Netherlands after a 1-0 lead (final score 1:2).

A hard landing on the ground, but at the same time an educational experience. President Ibrahim Hacıosmanoglu of the Turkish Football Association TFF definitely gave Montella and the team great expectations: “Our goal is clear, but we have to go step by step. Our first game is against Australia. We want to leave the field as winners. We know how advantageous it is to progress as first in the group. God willing, we will finish first in the group and continue on our way.”

The team is grown together

Coach Montella trusts in a well-coordinated team. The Italian has now nominated all 19 players who were in the starting eleven at least once at the European Championships in Germany for the World Cup.

Goalkeeper Mert Günok, who moved to Fenerbahce at the beginning of the year, is now 37 years old. Calhanoglu, who has just become Italian champion for the second time with Inter Milan, is already 32.

But there are also the young wild ones like Real’s Güler, who scored a brace in the quarter-final second leg of the Champions League against Bayern in Munich, or Can Uzun. The 20-year-old from Frankfurt just scored his first goal for the national team in the penultimate friendly before the World Cup.

“Since the day I arrived, they played with an incredible sense of togetherness and fought until the end,” Montella praised his team after winning their World Cup ticket. And Calhanoglu added: “Ultimately we have a very talented team. We are aware of that. I don’t think there is anything we can’t do at the moment.”

World Cup qualification with two successes in the play-offs

As expected, Turkey had to take the detour via the play-offs to qualify. The group victory went to Spain, which is one of the big tournament favorites. The Iberians gave Montella’s charges a real lesson when they won 6-0 in Selçuklu, Turkey, in September. But the Turks didn’t overturn them. There were two wins each against Georgia and Bulgaria – and a surprising 2-2 draw in the second leg against Spain.

In the play-offs against Romania and Kosovo there were two 1-0 wins, which also cooled down the discussions about a not always solid defense a little.

The 4-0 win in the test against North Macedonia in Istanbul before leaving for the World Cup further fueled the euphoria. In Fort Lauderdale there was a 2-1 win at the dress rehearsal last Sunday (June 7th, 2026).

Montella knows how to stoke the Turkish fire

Montella’s team already showed quite mature performances at the European Championships in Germany. Impressed with a decent passing rate and created good chances with good possession football. However, the Turks’ bargaining chip is and remains the fire on the square. In Germany they were the most unfair team with 19 yellow cards and one red card in the five games at the end of the tournament. Hotspur Montella’s team, who knows how to stoke the Turkish fire, has to be careful not to overturn the wheel of emotions.

But first Calhanoglu and his teammates will be carried by the World Cup euphoria. Hundreds of Turkish fans with flags and jerseys also attended the public training near the World Cup headquarters in Mesa, Arizona. Montella certainly spoke to many Turks’ hearts when he said: “The players here deserve the applause of our entire country. We are proud of them.”