World Cup 2026 Ultimate Guide: Turkiye

Despite only qualifying at the final moment, Turkiye enter the tournament as one of the favourites to progress given their kind draw in Group D.

Co-hosts the United States remain something of an unknown quantity, with questions surrounding their level of consistency, while Australia and Paraguay appear to start a step behind Turkiye in terms of quality.

Turkiye’s long absence from the World Cup finals creates a degree of uncertainty, but expectations are high, and the pressure of representing a football-mad nation on such a stage should not be underestimated.

The minimum objective is clear: Reach the knockout rounds, ideally as group winners. Given the ability within the Turkiye squad, that target is well within reach, while anything less would inevitably be viewed as a major disappointment.

In Istanbul and beyond, Vincenzo Montella’s name is now synonymous with one of the most significant achievements in recent Turkish football history: Bringing the country back to the World Cup after over two decades away.

After taking over in 2023, the Italian coach first guided Turkiye to the quarter finals of Euro 2024, and has now followed that success by securing World Cup qualification.

"This is a country that has given me more than I have truly given back," Montella said after qualification was secured. He has already secured his place in Turkish football history, but he has no intention of stopping there.

Vision, intelligence, and control. Just as he was for Inter on their way to winning Serie A this past season, Hakan Calhanoglu remains the heartbeat of Turkiye’s midfield.

"He’s one of those deep-lying playmakers who are becoming increasingly rare," Montella said of the 32-year-old. "A champion whose absence is immediately felt. You can give him the ball in difficult moments knowing it’s in safe hands."

Those words perfectly illustrate the trust the coach places in Calhanoglu, who is preparing to play in his first World Cup as the leader of his national team.

In Turkiye’s 4-2-3-1 system, Calhanoglu operates as one of the two holding midfielders, excelling both in possession and out of it. Almost every attacking move flows through him, and many of those passes are transformed into goals or assists by talented young attackers Arda Guler and Kenan Yildiz

Whether from open play or set-pieces, Calhanoglu remains Turkiye’s primary creative force, and for Montella, as for his club managers, the veteran is simply indispensable.

Fresh from winning the Portuguese league title with Porto, Deniz Gul has the potential to be Turkiye’s breakout star at the World Cup.

A centre-forward blessed with strong physical attributes and a natural eye for goal, Gul progressed through Sweden’s youth national teams having been born and raised in the Scandinavian country, before ultimately choosing to represent Turkiye at senior level.

Gul is expected to provide Montella with a valuable alternative in attack. At Porto, he has already demonstrated his ability to hold up play, attack space behind defences, and, above all, deliver when it matters most. It is no coincidence, then, that he scored on his first two starts for Turkiye.