Despite an impressive qualifying campaign, Turkey are struggling with poor form ahead of Euro 2024. Manager Vincenzo Montella is under pressure to deliver for the team at the tournament with cries of his sacking going about. The Crescent-Stars failed to match their expectation in the previous edition so they hope to hit the right note in Germany. Turkey faces a challenging group with 2016 winners Portugal a part of it alongside the Czech Republic and debutant Georgia. The side will be desperate to reach the knockouts for the first time since 2008.
History
Turkey has qualified for their sixth European Championship since making it to the finals for the first time in 1996. The star performance from the side came in 2008 when they reached the semifinal stage with the likes of Semih Şentürk, Arda Turan and Hamit Altıntop in the squad. Turkey finished second in their group only due to an inferior goal difference after having the same points as top-placed Portugal. They faced Croatia in the quarterfinals which ended 1-1 in extra time but the Crescent-Stars defeated them on penalties 3-1 on penalties. The side played another intense game against Germany for a place in the final but their dream ended with a 3-2 loss at Basel. Despite being touted as the dark horses in the last Euros, the side collapsed miserably by finishing bottom of their group, losing all the games and scoring just one goal.
Qualification for Euro 2024
Turkey had a magnificent qualifying campaign, finishing ahead of Croatia as group winners to get an automatic spot in the Euro 2024 group stage. They lost just one match in the qualifiers and registered five wins from eight games reflecting their performance four years ago. However, Montella’s team has gone downhill since the turn of the year. Turkey has failed to win any of their last four games with the heavy 6-1 loss to Austria in March the tip of it.
Turkey squad for Euro 2024
Goalkeepers: Mert Günok (Beşiktaş), Altay Bayındır (Manchester United), Uğurcan Çakır (Trabzonspor)
Defenders: Zeki Çelik (Roma), Merih Demiral (Al-Ahli), Ahmetcan Kaplan (Ajax), Abdülkerim Bardakcı (Galatasaray), Mert Müldür (Fenerbahçe), Ferdi Kadıoğlu (Fenerbahçe), Kaan Ayhan (Galatasaray), Samet Akaydin (Panathinaikos)
Midfielders: Okay Yokuşlu (West Brom), Orkun Kökçü (Benfica), Arda Güler (Real Madrid), Hakan Çalhanoğlu (Inter), Salih Özcan (Dortmund), İsmail Yüksek (Fenerbahçe)
Forwards: Kerem Aktürkoğlu (Galatasaray), Cenk Tosun (Beşiktaş), Yusuf Yazıcı (Lille), İrfan Kahveci (Fenerbahçe), Kenan Yıldız (Juventus), Barış Alper Yılmaz (Galatasaray),Semih Kılıçsoy (Beşiktaş), Yunus Akgün (Leicester City), Bertuğ Yıldırım (Rennes)
Captain: Hakan Çalhanoğlu
Manager: Vincenzo Montella
Injury has been a big concern in deciding Turkey’s final squad with stars like Çağlar Söyüncü, Enes Ünal and Ozan Kabak out of contention for the tournament. Abdülkadir Ömür, Cenk Özkacar, Berat Özdemir, Oğuz Aydın, Can Uzun and Doğan Alemdar have been excluded from the preliminary list. Forward Bertuğ Yıldırım has been called up to the senior team after being included in the u-21 side. The team is captained by Inter’s Hakan Çalhanoğlu coming off a Scudetto-winning campaign with Champions League finalists Salih Özcan and Orkun Kökçü making a solid midfield trio. The problem for Turkey lies in the final third with the forwards struggling for goals at the international level.
Formation: How will Turkey Lineup at Euro 2024?
Turkey Fixtures for Euro 2024
Tuesday, 18 June 2024
Turkey vs Georgia - Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund (21:30)
Saturday, 22 June 2024
Turkey vs Portugal - Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund (21:30)
Thursday, 27 June 2024
Czech Republic vs Turkey - Volksparkstadion, Hamburg (00:30)
