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🏆 World Cup 2026 · Group D

Türkiye

Attacking, technically proficient, high-tempo with aggressive pressing.

📋 Tournament Brief

Türkiye brings a attacking, dynamic style rooted in technical football and aggressive pressing. Known within UEFA for their intensity and creative attacking play, Turkish football has developed a reputation for entertaining, high-tempo football that emphasizes ball movement and creative passing. The national side enjoys strong support at home and carries expectations to compete in every fixture they contest.

Qualification for the 2026 World Cup represents a significant milestone in Türkiye's continued growth as a footballing nation. The journey to reach this tournament underscores their development within European football and the increasing competitiveness of their national program. Turkish football has grown substantially in recent decades, and reaching a World Cup showcases the depth of talent emerging from their domestic leagues and academy systems.

Group D presents a mixed proposition. The USA brings CONCACAF strength and athleticism; Paraguay offers South American technical quality and defensive solidity; Australia represents the emerging force of Asian football with physical robustness. Türkiye enters this group as a competitive side, neither favourites nor underdogs, but rather a team capable of competing against all three opponents. The group contains no clear dominant force, making it genuinely open and unpredictable—a scenario where group-stage performance will hinge on consistency, execution, and conversion of chances.

Turkish football carries deep regional pride and a passionate fan base that drives the national team with intensity. Domestic club football feeds the national side with technically gifted players, and the pride of representing Türkiye on the world stage remains a powerful motivator for their squad.

Editorial preview · pre-tournament context · edited

👥 Squad & Manager updated 18 May

V. Montella
Head Coach
V. Montella
Italy · age 51
Predicted XI
4-3-3
Predicted starting XI · published closer to kickoff
GK
DEF
DEF
DEF
DEF
MID
MID
MID
FWD
FWD
FWD
Goalkeepers · 3
1 M. Günok
M. Günok
age 36
12 A. Bayındır
A. Bayındır
age 27
23 U. Çakır
U. Çakır
age 29
Defenders · 9
2 Z. Çelik
Z. Çelik
age 28
3 E. Elmalı
E. Elmalı
age 25
3 M. Demiral
M. Demiral
age 27
4 S. Akaydin
S. Akaydin
age 31
14 A. Bardakcı
A. Bardakcı
age 31
15 O. Kabak
O. Kabak
age 25
18 M. Müldür
M. Müldür
age 26
20 F. Kadıoğlu
F. Kadıoğlu
age 26
22 K. Ayhan
K. Ayhan
age 31
Midfielders · 8
2 A. Karazor
A. Karazor
age 29
5 S. Özcan
S. Özcan
age 27
6 O. Kökçü
O. Kökçü
age 25
8 A. Güler
A. Güler
age 20
10 H. Çalhanoğlu
H. Çalhanoğlu
age 31
16 İ. Yüksek
İ. Yüksek
age 27
19 O. Aydın
O. Aydın
age 25
22 M. Eskihellaç
M. Eskihellaç
age 28
Attackers · 7
7 K. Aktürkoğlu
K. Aktürkoğlu
age 27
9 B. Yılmaz
B. Yılmaz
age 25
11 K. Yıldız
K. Yıldız
age 20
13 D. Gül
D. Gül
age 21
17 İ. Kahveci
İ. Kahveci
age 30
20 A. Şimşir
A. Şimşir
age 23
21 Y. Akgün
Y. Akgün
age 25
Squad data via API-Football · subject to change ahead of tournament

📅 Group D Fixtures Türkiye · 3 matches

Türkiye's group-stage fixtures will appear here as match details are confirmed. They play three Group D matches across the opening 12 days of the tournament.

🤝 Group D Rivals