Turkey national football team

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This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Turkey women's national football team.

Turkey
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Ay-Yıldızlılar (The Crescent-Stars)[1]
AssociationTürkiye Futbol Federasyonu (TFF)
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachŞenol Güneş (from 1 June)[2]
CaptainMehmet Topal
Most capsRüştü Reçber (120)
Top scorerHakan Şükür (51)
FIFA codeTUR[3]
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 39 Increase 2 (4 April 2019)[4]
Highest5 (June 2004)
Lowest67 (October 1993)
Elo ranking
Current 36 Increase 2 (27 March 2019)[5]
Highest10 (16 October 2002, November 2002)
Lowest72 (13 November 1985, 29 October 1986)
First international
 Turkey 2–2 Romania 
(Istanbul, Turkey; 26 October 1923)[6]
Biggest win
 Turkey 7–0 Syria 
(Ankara, Turkey; 20 November 1949)
 Turkey 7–0 South Korea 
(Geneva, Switzerland; 20 June 1954)
 Turkey 7–0 San Marino 
(Istanbul, Turkey; 10 November 1996)
Biggest defeat
 Poland 8–0 Turkey 
(Chorzów, Poland; 24 April 1968)
 Turkey 0–8 England 
(Istanbul, Turkey; 14 November 1984)
 England 8–0 Turkey 
(London, England; 14 October 1987)
World Cup
Appearances2 (first in 1954)
Best resultThird place, 2002
European Championship
Appearances4 (first in 1996)
Best resultSemi-finals, 2008
Confederations Cup
Appearances1 (first in 2003)
Best resultThird place, 2003

The Turkey national football team (Turkish: Türkiye Millî Futbol Takımı) represents Turkey in association football and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Turkey. They are affiliated with UEFA.

Turkey has qualified three times for the FIFA World Cup, in 1950, 1954, and 2002, although they withdrew from the 1950 event. Turkey has also qualified four times for the UEFA European Championship, in 1996, 2000, 2008, and 2016. They have reached the semi-finals of three major tournaments: the 2002 World Cup, the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup, and Euro 2008. After their third-place finish at the 2002 World Cup, which marked a high point in Turkish football history, Turkey occupied a spot in the top ten of the FIFA World Rankings for the first time since the rankings were introduced in December 1992.[7]

History[edit]

Further information: History of Turkish football
Turkey against Romania in 1923.

Early years[edit]

The Turkey national team played their first ever match against Romania in 1923, drawing 2–2.[8] Zeki Rıza Sporel is considered as the first big star of Turkish football as he scored the first two goals against Romania. Turkey played their first ever official match at the 1924 Summer Olympics losing 5–2 to Czechoslovakia.

1950 FIFA World Cup[edit]

Although Turkey qualified for the 1950 World Cup, beating Syria 7–0, they were forced to withdraw from the tournament due to financial problems.

1954 FIFA World Cup[edit]

Turkey then qualified for the 1954 World Cup after a play-off with Spain. The Turkish team first lost 4–1 to Spain, but a 1–0 win a few days later initiated a replay. On that occasion, they tied 2–2 after, booking their place after a coin toss. Turkey was put in a group along with Hungary and West Germany. The Turks, however, never played Hungary due to the tournament format, and a 4–1 defeat by the Germans was followed by Turkey carrying out a 7–0 win over South Korea. Turkey lost the play-off to West Germany 7–2. In 1956, however, Turkey did play Hungary in a friendly match in Istanbul, defeating what was one of the strongest teams of the era, 3–1.[9] Lefter Küçükandonyadis, arguably one of the best Turkish strikers of all-time, scored two goals during the tournament.

Near misses[edit]

Despite the introduction of a national league, and showings by Turkish clubs in European competition, the 1960s would be a barren time for the national team. Most players from the 1954 World Cup squad were retired, and the new generation of players failed to qualify for a major tournament. The 1970s saw Turkey holding back in the World Cup and UEFA European Championship qualifiers, but the team was a point too short to qualify for both UEFA Euro 1972 and Euro 1976. In the 1980s the Turkish team also suffered their worst defeats with 8–0 scorelines against Poland and twice against England. Yet the 1990 World Cup qualifiers would mark a turning point for Turkish football, with Turkey only missing out on qualification in the final match. Prominent players in this period included Rıdvan Dilmen, Oğuz Çetin, Rıza Çalımbay, Feyyaz Uçar, and European Golden Boot winner Tanju Çolak.

1990–1996[edit]

In 1990, German coach Sepp Piontek was put in charge of the national team. Under his guidance, a group of new players debuted for the national team. Many of these players (which included Bülent Korkmaz, Alpay Özalan, Sergen Yalçın, Rüştü Reçber, and Hakan Şükür) would become the backbone of the national team for many years. Piontek's mission came to an end in 1993, where he was replaced by Fatih Terim, who in turn managed to qualify for Euro 1996. Turkey qualified for its first major tournament since 1954, marking another turning point for Turkish football after having failed to qualify for both Euro 1992 and the 1994 World Cup. The appointment of Piontek was a recommended move by another German coach, Jupp Derwall, who had coached Galatasaray for three seasons. Derwall is regarded as the revolutionizer of Turkish football, since his introduction of modern Western European training techniques and tactical ideas to the Turkish game also heavily influenced the national team.

Euro 1996[edit]

Turkey national football team on an Azerbaijan stamp for Euro 1996.

Turkey qualified for Euro 1996, defeating both Switzerland and Sweden 2–1 en route during qualification. Despite a solid performance during the qualifiers, Turkey lost all their matches without scoring a single goal. They did, however, go home with an award: the fair-play award, given to Alpay Özalan.

Euro 2000[edit]

Although Turkey failed to qualify for the 1998 World Cup, they qualified for Euro 2000 after winning a play-off against the Republic of Ireland. Turkey lost their first match 2–1 to Italy, they drew their second match against Sweden 0–0, and beat host nation Belgium 2–0, making it the first time in the history of the UEFA European Championship a host nation had been eliminated in the first round. This victory brought Turkey into the last eight of the tournament, where they were beaten 2–0 by Portugal, with Arif Erdem missing a critical penalty.

2002 FIFA World Cup[edit]

For the 2002 World Cup, Turkey finished second in their qualifying group, despite starting well and being the favourites to top the group. They lost 2–1 to Sweden in the crucial match that would decide the top spot. The Turks were forced to play the play-offs against Austria. They defeated the Austrians 6–0 on aggregate and booked their place at the finals. The Turkish team started the 2002 World Cup with a 2–1 defeat against eventual winners Brazil.[10] Turkey qualified from the group stage with a 3–0 win against China PR after drawing 1–1 with Costa Rica.[11][12]

Turkey then faced home team Japan in the second round, winning 1–0.[13] The Turkish team continued their run, as they beat Senegal 1–0 on a golden goal to book their place in the semi-finals, where a 1–0 defeat against eventual tournament winners Brazil forced them to play the third place match, and a bronze medal was won after a 3–2 victory over co-hosts South Korea.[14][15][16] Hakan Şükür scored Turkey's first goal in 10.8 seconds, even when the South Koreans kicked off first. It was the fastest goal in World Cup history.[17][18] Tens of thousands of flag-waving Turkish fans greeted the World Cup squad on their return to Istanbul, where they joined a massive street party at Taksim Square.[19] Rüştü Reçber, Alpay Özalan and Hasan Şaş were all included in the All-Star Team, with Reçber also being voted as the best goalkeeper in the UEFA Team of the Year 2002, while Şenol Güneş was being voted as the best manager.

2003 FIFA Confederations Cup[edit]

In the summer of 2003, Turkey reached third place at the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup. In the group stages, Turkey defeated the United States 2–1 before losing to Cameroon 0–1. In their final group match, Turkey drew 2–2 against Brazil, eliminating them from the tournament. Turkey lost to eventual tournament winners France 3–2 in the semi-final match. Turkey then defeated Colombia 2–1 to win the bronze medal. Tuncay Şanlı scored three goals and made an assist, which won him the Silver Shoe Award and the Silver Ball Award for the second best player of the tournament.

Euro 2004[edit]

The Turkish team failed to qualify for Euro 2004 on play-offs due to a loss to Latvia after finishing second in their group. This marked a turning point for the national team as new players were introduced to the national team to create a new generation.

2006 FIFA World Cup[edit]

The Turkish team once again narrowly missed out on the World Cup finals after failing to win a play-off, this time on away goals against Switzerland, again after finishing second in their group. There were scenes of violence after the game on and off the pitch where the Turkish team brawled with Swiss players down the tunnel.

Turkey against France on 5 June 2009.

Euro 2008[edit]

Turkey qualified for their first international tournament in six years by finishing second behind Greece in Euro 2008 qualifying Group C to reach the Euro 2008 final stages. They were placed alongside Switzerland, Portugal and the Czech Republic in Group A. In their first match, they played Portugal and were beaten 2–0, but wins over Switzerland (2–1) and the Czech Republic (3–2) – both secured by late goals – brought qualification for the knockout stages.[20][21][22] Again, Turkey knocked out a host nation – Switzerland – in the group stages for the second time.[23]

The quarter-final against Croatia was goalless after 90 minutes, and Croatia led 1–0 in the final minute of extra time, but another late Turkish goal by forward Semih Şentürk brought the game to penalties. The goal raised some controversy with Croatia fans and Croatia head coach Slaven Bilić, who claimed that the goal had been scored after extra time had elapsed. This complaint, however, was overruled, and the game went into penalties. Turkey defeated Croatia in penalties, 3–1.[24]

Turkey went into the semi-final against Germany with just 14 outfield players available as a result of injuries and suspensions, but scored first and were drawing 2–2. But they finished third by default after losing 3–2 with a last minute goal by Philipp Lahm.[25] Both Russia and Turkey were given bronze medals in the dressing rooms after the semi-finals.

2010 FIFA World Cup[edit]

The Turkish team during the UEFA Euro 2012 qualification.

For the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, Turkey had a mixed qualifying campaign, finishing with 15 points and missing out on a play-off place to Bosnia and Herzegovina with 19 points. Spain topped the group to qualify, winning every game in the process. Coach Fatih Terim announced he would be resigning his post following their failure to qualify.[26]

Euro 2012[edit]

Turkey were drawn in Group A in qualification for Euro 2012, together with Kazakhstan, Austria, Belgium, Germany and Azerbaijan. The Turkish team reached the play-offs after beating Azerbaijan 1–0 but got eliminated 3–0 on aggregate by Croatia. On 14 November 2012, Turkey celebrated their 500th match in a friendly game played against Denmark at the Türk Telekom Arena, Istanbul, which ended in a 1–1 draw. Before the match, footballers and coaches, who contributed to the national team's success in the past, were honoured. Turkish pop singer Hadise, who wore a national team jersey with the number 500, performed a small concert.[27][28]

2014 FIFA World Cup[edit]

Turkey against Austria on 29 March 2016.

Turkey were drawn in Group D in qualification for the 2014 World Cup, together with Andorra, Estonia, Hungary, the Netherlands and Romania, finishing fourth. Turkey began to lose critical points during qualification and Abdullah Avcı was sacked soon after. Fatih Terim was put in charge for the third time to lead the national team, but a 2–0 defeat against the Netherlands ended hopes of qualification.

Euro 2016[edit]

Turkey were drawn in Group A in the qualification campaign for the Euro 2016, together with Iceland, Latvia, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. The Turkish team qualified for their first major tournament in eight years as the best third-placed team after beating Iceland 1–0, with Selçuk İnan netting a free kick in the 89th minute. After over 18 months unbeaten, a loss to England as a pre-tournament friendly ended the team's winning streak, subsequently leading to back-to-back losses against Croatia and Spain in the tournament. Turkey won their last game against the Czech Republic, 2–0. They were minutes away from reaching the last 16, until a late winner for Ireland against Italy meant that the latter instead qualified as one of the best third-placed teams. Despite elimination, youngster Emre Mor's skillful display and assist during the game revealed a hopeful future for Turkish football.

2018 FIFA World Cup[edit]

Turkey were drawn in UEFA Group I for the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign. During the qualifiers, head coach Fatih Terim stood down after an off-field incident,[29] and 72-year-old former Romania manager Mircea Lucescu took over. After eight games, Turkey stood a strong chance of qualifying for the tournament, but a 0–3 defeat against Iceland at home ended automatic qualification hopes. After a 2–2 draw against Finland the team finished fourth in Group I.

Fixtures and results[edit]

Main article: Turkey national football team results

2018[edit]

2019[edit]

Personnel[edit]

Şenol Güneş, the current manager of the Turkey national football team.
Main article: List of Turkey national football team managers

Current technical staff[edit]

Position Name
Head coach Turkey Şenol Güneş
Assistant coach(es) Turkey Kerem Yavaş
Turkey Nedim Yiğit
Fitness coach United States Mike Verhoeven
Goalkeeping coach Turkey Eren Aytekin
Nurese Turkey Sarper Çetinkaya

Players[edit]

Current squad[edit]

The following players have been called up for the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying matches against Albania and Moldova, on 22 and 25 March 2019.
All caps and goals as of 25 March 2019 after match against Moldova.[30]

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Sinan Bolat (1988-09-03) 3 September 1988 (age 30) 11 0 Belgium Antwerp
12 1GK Mert Günok (1989-03-01) 1 March 1989 (age 30) 8 0 Turkey İstanbul Başakşehir
23 1GK Uğurcan Çakır (1996-04-05) 5 April 1996 (age 23) 0 0 Turkey Trabzonspor
7 2DF Gökhan Gönül (1985-01-04) 4 January 1985 (age 34) 66 1 Turkey Beşiktaş
3 2DF Hasan Ali Kaldırım (1989-12-09) 9 December 1989 (age 29) 30 1 Turkey Fenerbahçe
4 2DF Çağlar Söyüncü (1996-05-23) 23 May 1996 (age 22) 22 1 England Leicester City
22 2DF Kaan Ayhan (1994-11-10) 10 November 1994 (age 24) 20 1 Germany Fortuna Düsseldorf
2 2DF Zeki Çelik (1997-02-17) 17 February 1997 (age 22) 6 0 France Lille
13 2DF Emre Taşdemir (1995-08-08) 8 August 1995 (age 23) 4 0 Turkey Galatasaray
16 2DF Merih Demiral (1998-03-05) 5 March 1998 (age 21) 3 0 Italy Sassuolo
18 2DF Ozan Kabak (2000-03-25) 25 March 2000 (age 19) 0 0 Germany Stuttgart
5 3MF Emre Belözoğlu (Captain) (1980-09-07) 7 September 1980 (age 38) 97 9 Turkey İstanbul Başakşehir
10 3MF Hakan Çalhanoğlu (3rd captain) (1994-02-08) 8 February 1994 (age 25) 40 10 Italy Milan
19 3MF Yunus Mallı (1992-02-24) 24 February 1992 (age 27) 24 1 Germany VfL Wolfsburg
6 3MF Okay Yokuşlu (1994-03-09) 9 March 1994 (age 25) 21 1 Spain Celta
11 3MF Yusuf Yazıcı (1997-01-29) 29 January 1997 (age 22) 11 0 Turkey Trabzonspor
14 3MF Mahmut Tekdemir (1988-01-20) 20 January 1988 (age 31) 10 0 Turkey İstanbul Başakşehir
20 3MF Deniz Türüç (1993-01-29) 29 January 1993 (age 26) 4 0 Turkey Kayserispor
8 3MF Dorukhan Toköz (1996-05-21) 21 May 1996 (age 22) 2 0 Turkey Beşiktaş
3MF Efecan Karaca (1989-11-16) 16 November 1989 (age 29) 1 0 Turkey Alanyaspor
21 3MF Emre Kılınç (1994-08-23) 23 August 1994 (age 24) 0 0 Turkey Sivasspor
15 3MF Güven Yalçın (1999-01-18) 18 January 1999 (age 20) 0 0 Turkey Beşiktaş
17 4FW Burak Yılmaz (Vice-captain) (1985-07-15) 15 July 1985 (age 33) 54 24 Turkey Beşiktaş
9 4FW Cenk Tosun (1991-06-07) 7 June 1991 (age 27) 37 13 England Everton

Recent call-ups[edit]

The following players have been called up for the team within the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Muhammed Şengezer (1997-01-05) 5 January 1997 (age 22) 0 0 Turkey Bursaspor v.  Albania, 22 March 2019PRE
GK Gökhan Akkan (1995-01-01) 1 January 1995 (age 24) 0 0 Turkey Çaykur Rizespor v.  Russia, 14 October 2018
GK Harun Tekin (1989-06-17) 17 June 1989 (age 29) 2 0 Turkey Fenerbahçe v.  Russia, 5 June 2018
GK Volkan Babacan (1988-08-11) 11 August 1988 (age 30) 35 0 Turkey İstanbul Başakşehir v.  Iran, 28 May 2018INJ
DF Serdar Aziz (1990-10-23) 23 October 1990 (age 28) 17 2 Turkey Fenerbahçe v.  Sweden, 17 November 2018INJ
DF Şener Özbayraklı (1990-01-23) 23 January 1990 (age 29) 19 0 Turkey Fenerbahçe v.  Russia, 14 October 2018
MF Mehmet Topal (1986-03-03) 3 March 1986 (age 33) 81 2 Turkey Fenerbahçe v.  Albania, 22 March 2019PRE
MF Oğuzhan Özyakup (1992-09-23) 23 September 1992 (age 26) 41 1 Turkey Beşiktaş v.  Albania, 22 March 2019PRE
MF İrfan Kahveci (1995-06-15) 15 June 1995 (age 23) 6 0 Turkey İstanbul Başakşehir v.  Albania, 22 March 2019PRE
MF Berkay Özcan (1998-02-15) 15 February 1998 (age 21) 3 0 Germany VfB Stuttgart v.  Russia, 14 October 2018
MF Emre Akbaba (1992-10-04) 4 October 1992 (age 26) 6 3 Turkey Galatasaray v.  Sweden, 10 September 2018INJ
MF Abdülkadir Ömür (1999-06-25) 25 June 1999 (age 19) 0 0 Turkey Trabzonspor v.  Sweden, 10 September 2018
FW Umut Bulut (1983-03-15) 15 March 1983 (age 36) 39 10 Turkey Kayserispor v.  Russia, 5 June 2018
Notes
  • PRE = Preliminary squad.
  • INJ = Not part of the current squad due to injury.

Previous squads[edit]

Rivalries[edit]

Turkey has developed several notable rivalries, the most well-known being with Croatia[31] and Greece.

Turkey and Croatia have played each other 9 times,[32] with their first encounter at Euro 1996; where both countries made their debuts in the opening match, which Croatia won 1–0.[33] A well-remembered match between them was at Euro 2008, which Turkey won on penalties after a 1–1 deadlock even after extra-time. With the win, Turkey reached the semi-finals in only their third appearance overall at the Euro finals.[34] The two teams faced each other in the 2012 Euro qualifying play-offs, with Croatia winning 3–0 in the first-leg in Istanbul, and advancing to the tournament finals following a 0–0 draw in the second-leg.[35][36] The two teams faced each other once again in a European competition at Euro 2016, playing in the opening match of Group D; with Croatia winning 1–0 through a sensational Luka Modrić volley.[37][38] Only three months after the match at the Euros, the two teams played in their opening match in Group I of 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying, which finished 1–1.[39] Exactly one year after this, Turkey won the reverse fixture 1–0 at home, which played a key part in both countries' qualifying campaign.[40][41]

Turkey also has a historical rivalry with Greece; having played them a total of 13 times, winning seven, drawing three and losing three games.[42] Both countries have been described as "punching above their weight"; with Greece winning Euro 2004 despite being classified as underdogs prior to the competition, and Turkey followed-up their World Cup semi-final appearance in 2002 by advancing to the semi-finals of Euro 2008, where they were knocked out by Germany. Due to tension between the two countries and the dispute over Cyprus, coupled with several incidents occurring during matches between Turkish and Greek clubs, it has been described as one of the biggest international football rivalries.[43]

Competitive record[edit]

FIFA World Cup[edit]

Main article: Turkey at the FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup record FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 Did not enter – – – – – –
Italy 1934 Withdrew – – – – – –
France 1938 Did not enter – – – – – –
Brazil 1950 Qualified but withdrew 1 1 0 0 7 0
Switzerland 1954 Group stage 9th 3 1 0 2 10 11 3 1 1 1 4 6
Sweden 1958 Withdrew – – – – – –
Chile 1962 Did not qualify 4 2 0 2 4 4
England 1966 6 1 0 5 4 19
Mexico 1970 4 0 0 4 2 13
West Germany 1974 6 2 2 2 5 3
Argentina 1978 6 2 1 3 9 5
Spain 1982 8 0 0 8 1 22
Mexico 1986 8 0 1 7 2 24
Italy 1990 8 3 1 4 12 10
United States 1994 10 3 1 6 11 19
France 1998 8 4 2 2 21 9
South Korea Japan 2002 Third Place 3rd 7 4 1 2 10 6 12 8 3 1 24 8
Germany 2006 Did not qualify 14 7 5 2 27 13
South Africa 2010 10 4 3 3 13 10
Brazil 2014 10 5 1 4 16 9
Russia 2018 10 4 3 3 14 13
Qatar 2022 To be determined
Canada Mexico United States 2026
Total Third Place 2/23 10 5 1 4 20 17 128 47 24 57 176 187

UEFA European Championship[edit]

Main article: Turkey at the UEFA European Football Championship
UEFA European Championship record UEFA European Championship qualifying record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
France 1960 Did not qualify 2 1 0 1 2 3
Spain 1964 2 0 0 2 0 7
Italy 1968 6 1 2 3 3 8
Belgium 1972 6 2 1 3 5 13
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1976 6 2 2 2 5 10
Italy 1980 6 3 1 2 5 5
France 1984 8 3 1 4 8 16
West Germany 1988 6 0 2 4 2 16
Sweden 1992 6 0 0 6 1 14
England 1996 Group stage 16th 3 0 0 3 0 5 8 4 3 1 16 8
Belgium Netherlands 2000 Quarter-finals 6th 4 1 1 2 3 4 10 5 4 1 16 7
Portugal 2004 Did not qualify 10 6 2 2 19 8
Austria Switzerland 2008 Semi-finals 3rd 5 2 1* 2 8 9 12 7 3 2 25 11
Poland Ukraine 2012 Did not qualify 12 5 3 4 13 14
France 2016 Group stage 17th 3 1 0 2 2 4 10 5 3 2 14 9
Europe 2020 To be determined 2 2 0 0 6 0
Germany 2024
Total Third Place 4/17 15 4 2* 9 13 22 112 46 27 39 140 149
*Draws include knockout matches decided by penalty shoot-out.
Turkey at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Turkey at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam.

Summer Olympics[edit]

Olympic Games record
Year Result Position GP W D* L GS GA
France 1924 Round 1 13th 1 0 0 1 2 5
Netherlands 1928 Round 1 14th 1 0 0 1 1 7
Nazi Germany 1936 Round 1 15th 1 0 0 1 0 1
United Kingdom 1948 Quarter-finals 6th 2 1 0 1 5 3
Finland 1952 Quarter-finals 8th 2 1 0 1 3 8
Australia 1956 Withdrew
Italy 1960 Round 1 14th 3 0 1 2 3 10
Japan 1964 Did not qualify
Mexico 1968
West Germany 1972
Canada 1976
Soviet Union 1980
United States 1984 Withdrew
South Korea 1988 Did not qualify
Spain 1992
United States 1996
Australia 2000
Greece 2004
China 2008
United Kingdom 2012
Brazil 2016
Total Quarter-finals 6/23 10 2 1 7 14 34

FIFA Confederations Cup[edit]

Main article: Turkey at the FIFA Confederations Cup
FIFA Confederations Cup record
Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA Squad
Saudi Arabia 1992 Did not qualify
Saudi Arabia 1995
Saudi Arabia 1997
Mexico 1999
South Korea Japan 2001
France 2003 Third Place 3rd 5 2 1 2 8 8 Squad
Germany 2005 Did not qualify
South Africa 2009
Brazil 2013
Russia 2017
Total Third Place 1/10 5 2 1 2 8 8 —
*Denotes draws including knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

UEFA Nations League[edit]

UEFA Nations League record
Year Division Round Pos Pld W D L GF GA
2018–19 B Group stage
Relegated 		3rd 4 1 0 3 4 7
2020–21 C To be determined
Total Group stage
League B 		1/1 4 1 0 3 4 7

Mediterranean Games record[edit]

Turkey B Turkey

Football at the Mediterranean Games
Year Rank GP W D L GS GA
Egypt 1951 - 0 0 0 0 0 0
Spain 1955 - 0 0 0 0 0 0
Lebanon 1959 2 2 1 1 0 7 4
Italy 1963 2 5 3 1 1 12 7
Tunisia 1967 4 5 2 1 2 5 7
Turkey 1971 3 4 3 1 0 4 1
Algeria1975 7 4 0 2 2 1 5
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1979 5 3 1 1 1 2 2
Morocco 1983 2 4 2 0 2 4 5
Syria 1987 3 5 3 0 2 6 2
1991 – present See Turkey national under-20 team
Total 8/10 32 15 7 10 41 33

Honours[edit]

Turkey national football team on an Azerbaijan stamp for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

3rd, bronze medalist(s) Third place (1): 2002

3rd, bronze medalist(s) Third place (1): 2003

3rd, bronze medalist(s) Semi-finals (1): 2008

Total results by opponent[edit]

The following table shows Turkey's all-time international record, correct as of 26 March 2019.

  1. ^ Includes matches against  Czechoslovakia.
  2. ^ Includes matches against  West Germany.
  3. ^ Includes matches against  Soviet Union.
  4. ^ Includes matches against  Yugoslavia.

Player history[edit]

Main article: List of Turkey international footballers

Most capped players[edit]

Rüştü Reçber is Turkey's most capped player with 120 caps.

Players in bold are still active, at least at club level.[44] As of March 26, 2019.

# Name Career Caps Goals
1 Rüştü Reçber 1994–2012 120 0
2 Hakan Şükür 1992–2007 112 51
3 Bülent Korkmaz 1990–2005 102 3
4 Arda Turan 2006– 100 17
5 Emre Belözoğlu 2000– 97 9
6 Tugay Kerimoğlu 1990–2007 94 2
7 Alpay Özalan 1995–2005 90 4
8 Hamit Altıntop 2004–2014 82 7
9 Tuncay Şanlı 2002–2010 80 22
10 Mehmet Topal 2008– 80 2

Top goalscorers[edit]

Hakan Şükür is Turkey's all-time record goalscorer with 51 goals.

Goalscorers with an equal number of goals are ranked in chronological order of reaching the milestone. Bold indicates still active players.[45] As of March 25, 2019.

# Name Career Goals Caps Rate
1 Hakan Şükür 1992–2007
51
112
0.46
2 Burak Yılmaz 2006–
24
53
0.44
3 Tuncay Şanlı 2003–2010
22
80
0.28
4 Lefter Küçükandonyadis 1948–1963
21
46
0.46
5 Metin Oktay 1956–1968
19
36
0.53
Cemil Turan 1969–1979
19
44
0.43
Nihat Kahveci 2000–2011
19
68
0.28
8 Arda Turan 2006–
17
100
0.17
9 Zeki Rıza Sporel 1923–1932
15
16
0.94
10 Cenk Tosun 2013-
13
37
0.35

Past managers[edit]

Main article: List of Turkey national football team managers

Decoration[edit]

In 2002, the national team was honored with the Turkish "State Medal of Distinguished Service" for its third place achievement at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. All the team members, coaches and officials were bestowed by a medal.[46]

Gallery[edit]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Turkey sneak through as best third-placed team". UEFA. 14 October 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  2. ^ Beşiktaş boss Şenol Güneş appointed Turkey national team coach
  3. ^ Jeffree, Iain (6 August 2015). "FIFA Country Codes". RSSSF. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  4. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 4 April 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  5. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  6. ^ Since the Republic was not formally declared by the time of the event, the game was played between Romania and TFF. The city also was not consistently known as Istanbul in the English speaking world until 1930
  7. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking - Associations - Turkey - Men's - FIFA.com". FIFA.com. FIFA. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  8. ^ Erdinç, Sivritepe. "Turkey 2–2 Romania". Turkey international football matches. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
  9. ^ "Magical Magyars beating". Retrieved 16 September 2010.
  10. ^ "Brazil beat brave Turks". BBC Sport. 3 June 2002. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  11. ^ "Parks strike denies Turkey". BBC Sport. 14 June 2002. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  12. ^ "Turkey reach last 16". BBC Sport. 13 June 2002. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  13. ^ "Turkey end Japan's dream". BBC Sport. 18 June 2002. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  14. ^ "Turkey's golden delight". BBC Sport. 22 June 2002. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  15. ^ "Brazil stride into final". BBC Sport. 26 June 2002. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  16. ^ "Turkey finish in style". BBC Sport. 29 June 2002. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  17. ^ "World Cup Rewind: Hakan Şükür scores the tournament's fastest ever goal". guinnessworldrecords.com. Guinness World Records. 6 June 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  18. ^ Fastest Goals in World Cup History
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External links[edit]

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