Turkey national football team
The
Turkey national football team is the national football team of
Turkey and is controlled by the
Turkish Football Federation. They are affiliated with
UEFA.
The team's highest achievement was reaching 3rd place at the
2002 FIFA World Cup. Turkey also reached the quarter-finals at
Euro 2000 and reached 3rd place at the
2003 Confederations Cup.
World Cup 1950
Turkey qualified for the
1950 World Cup beating
Syria 7-0 but they withdrew due to financial problems.
World Cup 1954
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 an exciting and tough match, and finally Turkey would book their place after a coin toss. Turkey was put in a tough group along with a high rated
Hungary side and
West Germany however the Turks were never going to play
Hungary according to the tournament format, and a 4-1 defeat by the Germans was followed by Turkey carrying out a 7-0 trashing of
South Korea. Finally Turkey lost the play-off to
West Germany 7-2.
'60s to '90s
Despite the introduction of a national league which would flourish, and respectable showings by Turkish clubs in European competition, the 1960s would be a barren time for the national team. The 1970s saw Turkey hold their own in World Cup and European Championship qualifiers but without threatening to qualify.
The 1980s saw Turkey plunge to new depths with two 8-0 defeats to
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 game.
World Cup 2002
The rising fortunes of Turkish football over the next decade would be confirmed by third place at the
2002 World Cup. The Turkish team beat
Senegal 1-0 on a golden goal to book their place in the semi-finals where a 1-0 defeat against
Brazil forced them to play the third place match, a bronze medal was the prize after a 3-2 victory over
South-Korea.
Confederations Cup 2003
In the summer of 2003, Turkey reached third place at the
2003 Confederations Cup in which they drew 2-2 against a very strong
Brazil squad with a young, experimental Turkey squad, knocking
Brazil out of the tournament. Turkey lost to eventual tournament winners
France 3-2 in an exciting semi-final after failing to equalize from a last-minute penalty kick. Turkey defeated
Colombia 2-1 to win third place.
Euro 2004
The Turkish team failed to qualify for on play-offs due to an upset by
Latvia after finishing second in their group.
World Cup 2006
The Turkish team once again narrowly missed out on the finals after failing to win a play-off, this time on away goals against
Switzerland, again after finishing second in their group. Missing out on was seen as a major loss due to the massive amount of Turkish fans at
Germany.
Present to Future
With former coach
Fatih Terim and new young blood from the team that won the U-17 European Championship, Turkey are looking for a place in the
Euro 2008 finals.
*
1930 -
Did not enter *
1934 -
Withdrew *
1938 -
Did not enter*
1950 -
Qualified, but withdrew*
1954 - Round 1
*
1958 -
Withdrew*
1962 to
1998 -
Did not qualify*
2002 - Third place
*
2006 -
Did not qualify*
1960 to
1992 -
Did not qualify*
1996 - Round 1
*
2000 - Quarterfinals
*
2004 -
Did not qualify*
2003 Confederations Cup - 3rd place
Despite that Turkey and
Greece have never met in a competition, the two sides have met in a tall of qualifying and friendly games. Turkey has won most of the games so far. The last two meetings were during the
2006 World Cup qualification, and it ended 0-0 on both occasions. They will meet again in their
Euro 2008 campaign and are the highly rated favourites to reach the finals.
Current squad
The current squad, according to the TFF.[
1][
2]. All match statistics are updated up to July 21, 2006.
Notable former players
Most Capped
Ertuğrul Sağlam is set to take over the national team after
Euro 2008.
Most capped coaches
Most Successful
Full List
* 1951
West Germany -
Turkey 1-2 Coach:
Rebii Erkal* 1954
Turkey -
Spain 1-0 Coach:
Sandro Puppo (Italy)
* 1954
Spain -
Turkey 2-2 Coach:
Sandro Puppo (Italy)
* 1956
Turkey -
Hungary 3-1 Coach:
Giovanni Varglien (Italy)
* 1970
West Germany -
Turkey 1-1 Coach:
Cihat Arman* 1995
Turkey -
Sweden 2-1 Coach:
Fatih Terim* 1997
Turkey -
Netherlands 1-0 Coach:
Mustafa Denizli* 1998
Turkey -
Germany 1-0 Coach:
Mustafa Denizli* 2000
Belgium -
Turkey 0-2 Coach:
Mustafa Denizli* 2001
Turkey -
Austria 5-0 Coach:
Şenol Güneş* 2002
Brazil -
Turkey 2-1 Coach:
Şenol Güneş* 2002
Senegal -
Turkey 0-1 Coach:
Şenol Güneş* 2002
Brazil -
Turkey 1-0 Coach:
Şenol Güneş* 2002
South Korea -
Turkey 2-3 Coach:
Şenol Güneş* 2003
Brazil -
Turkey 2-2 Coach:
Şenol Güneş* 2003
France -
Turkey 3-2 Coach:
Şenol Güneş* 2003
Colombia -
Turkey 1-2 Coach:
Şenol GüneşNotes
Hakan scored the fastest goal ever in (10.8 seconds after kickoff) a World Cup finals match during the third-place game of the 2002 World Cup against South Korea.
Turkey's highest FIFA World Ranking was 5th place. (June 2004)
*
Official site of national federation*
Unofficial site with extensive national team information*
RSSSF.com - caps and goals leaders for Turkey*
RSSSF.com - Turkey national team coaches*
Turkey in the world cup*
Turkey - Greece rivalry
