The National Team 2026 FIFA World Cup Group Stage

The Türkiye national football team qualified for the play-off stage after finishing second in Group E of the 2024-25 UEFA qualifying format with 13 points. In the play-off semi-final, the team defeated Romania, and in the final, they beat Kosovo, both matches won by a single goal. This secured Türkiye's qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after a 24-year absence. The tournament will be hosted jointly by the United States, Canada, and Mexico from 11 June to 19 July 2026, and the Türkiye national team will compete in Group D alongside the United States, Paraguay, and Australia.

The Türkiye national football team competed in Group E of the 2026 FIFA World Cup European Qualifiers alongside Spain, Georgia, and Bulgaria. In the group stage, Türkiye played eight matches, recording four wins, one draw, and three losses, accumulating 13 points. They finished second in the group behind Spain, who earned 16 points, thereby earning a place in the play-off stage.

• Türkiye National Team 2026 FIFA World Cup European Qualifiers Group Matches
• FIFA 2026 World Cup European Qualifiers Play-off Draw
• 2026 World Cup Play-off Semi-final: Türkiye vs Romania
• 2026 World Cup Play-off Final: Türkiye vs Kosovo

In the play-off Path C semi-final on 26 March 2026 in Istanbul, Türkiye hosted Romania and secured a 1-0 victory thanks to a goal by Ferdi Kadıoğlu in the 53rd minute. In the play-off final on 31 March 2026 at the Fadil Vokrri Stadium in Pristina, Kosovo, the Türkiye national team won 1-0 with a goal by Kerem Aktürkoğlu in the 53rd minute, earning their ticket to the 2026 World Cup and being placed in Group D.

Following the group draw held on 5 December 2025 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, the Türkiye national team was drawn into Group D alongside the other three teams following their successful completion of the play-off stage. The three confirmed teams in Group D are the United States, Paraguay, and Australia, with the fourth spot reserved for the winner of Play-off Path C. Türkiye’s victory in this path finalized the group composition.

According to the schedule released by the Turkish Football Federation, the Türkiye national team will play its three group stage matches on the following dates:

It has been announced that the Türkiye national team’s preparatory camp will be held at the TFF Hasan Doğan National Teams Training and Education Facility. According to the published training schedule, the team will conduct its preparations at the facility from 22 May to 31 May 2026. On Tuesday, 2 June 2026, the team will depart from Istanbul (IST) at 13:30 local time bound for Fort Lauderdale (FLL). Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA has been confirmed as the team’s camp base.

A press conference will be held on Sunday, 31 May 2026 at 14:15 at the TFF Hasan Doğan National Teams Training and Education Facility.

The Turkish Football Federation announced on 18 May 2026 the 35-player expanded squad selected by Head Coach Vincenzo Montella.

• Altay Bayındır
• Ersin Destanoğlu
• Mert Günok
• Muhammed Şengezer
• Uğurcan Çakır

• Abdülkerim Bardakçı
• Ahmetcan Kaplan
• Çağlar Söyüncü
• Eren Elmalı
• Ferdi Kadıoğlu
• Merih Demiral
• Mert Müldür
• Mustafa Eskihellaç
• Ozan Kabak
• Samet Akaydın
• Yusuf Akçiçek
• Zeki Çelik

• Atakan Karazor
• Demir Ege Tıknaz
• Hakan Çalhanoğlu
• İsmail Yüksek
• Kaan Ayhan
• Orkun Kökçü
• Salih Özcan

• Aral Şimşir
• Arda Güler
• Barış Alper Yılmaz
• Yunus Akgün
• Can Uzun
• Deniz Gül
• İrfan Can Kahveci
• Kenan Yıldız
• Kerem Aktürkoğlu
• Oğuz Aydın
• Yusuf Sarı

^{Turkey-North Macedonia match infographic (AA)}

An official preparation match was held between the Turkey national football team and the North Macedonia national football team at the Chobani Stadium in Istanbul’s Kadıköy district as part of the preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The match kicked off at 20:30 and ended with a 4-0 victory for Turkey. This match marked Turkey’s first preparation game ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament.

This encounter is recorded as the 650th match in the 103-year history of the Turkey national football team. Prior to this match, Turkey had played a total of 649 matches, including 362 official and 287 friendly games, achieving 257 wins, 151 draws and 241 losses, with one win awarded by default. The national team scored a total of 897 goals and conceded 926 goals across these matches. This was also the 32nd match for Italian head coach Vincenzo Montella in charge of the national team. Under Montella’s leadership, Turkey previously recorded 18 wins, 8 losses and 5 draws in 31 matches.

This match marked the ninth meeting between the two national teams in history. Of the previous eight encounters, four were played in North Macedonia, three in Turkey and one at a neutral venue; four were official matches and four were friendlies. Turkey won five of those matches, drew two and lost one, scoring 14 goals and conceding nine. The most recent meeting between the two sides took place nine years ago in Skopje during the tenure of head coach Fatih Terim and ended in a 0-0 draw.

Additionally, this match was Turkey’s first appearance at Kadıköy after a gap of 1,696 days. The national team’s last match at the stadium was on 8 October 2021, during the 2022 World Cup qualifiers against Norway, which ended in a 1-1 draw.

The Turkey national team continued its 2026 FIFA World Cup training camp at the Hasan Doğan National Teams Training and Education Facility. Ahead of the match, Kerem Aktürkoğlu, Ferdi Kadıoğlu, Mustafa Eskihellaç and Kenan Yıldız were dealing with minor injuries and remained under medical treatment. Team captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu trained separately from the squad.

The 35-player preliminary squad selected by head coach Vincenzo Montella included the following players:

• Goalkeepers: Altay Bayındır, Ersin Destanoğlu, Mert Günok, Muhammed Şengezer, Uğurcan Çakır.
• Defenders: Abdülkerim Bardakcı, Eren Elmalı, Ahmetcan Kaplan, Çağlar Söyüncü, Mert Müldür, Ferdi Kadıoğlu, Merih Demiral, Mustafa Eskihellaç, Ozan Kabak, Samet Akaydin, Yusuf Akçiçek, Zeki Çelik.
• Midfielders: Atakan Karazor, Demir Ege Tıknaz, Hakan Çalhanoğlu, İsmail Yüksek, Kaan Ayhan, Orkun Kökçü, Salih Özcan.
• Forwards: Aral Şimşir, Arda Güler, Barış Alper Yılmaz, Yunus Akgün, Can Uzun, Deniz Gül, İrfan Can Kahveci, Kenan Yıldız, Kerem Aktürkoğlu, Oğuz Aydın, Yusuf Sarı.

^{Turkey’s starting eleven (AA)}

North Macedonia was chosen as the opponent for this preparation match primarily due to tactical similarities with Australia, Turkey’s first opponent in the World Cup group stage, particularly in their use of a five-man defensive system. The other teams in the group are Paraguay and the United States. The match, officiated by referee Jose Luis Munuera, also served to test new rules introduced by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) for the World Cup.

The match began with Turkey applying an aggressive, attacking style. In the first minute, Can Uzun received a pass from Orkun Kökçü on the left diagonal of the penalty area and shot, but the ball struck the crossbar and rebounded back into play. Shortly after this attack, in the fourth minute, Orkun Kökçü struck a powerful shot from just outside the six-yard box after Oğuz Aydın’s cross from the right flank, sending the ball into the net to give Turkey a 1-0 lead.

^{Turkey-North Macedonia match (AA)}

In the 16th minute, a swift counterattack began in midfield. Can Uzun delivered a pass to Eren Elmalı on the left flank, who ran to the byline and returned the ball to the center. Can Uzun then fired a precise shot from the left diagonal to make it 2-0.

After the ball went out of bounds in the 21st minute, North Macedonia’s goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski and defenders delayed their restart, triggering the immediate application of a new IFAB rule designed to speed up play and reduce time-wasting. Referee Jose Luis Munuera awarded a corner kick to Turkey. Near the end of the first half, in the 44th minute, North Macedonia launched an attack. Bojan Miovski delivered a cross from the left side of the penalty area, and Ezgjan Alioski, after beating Ozan Kabak, fired a dangerous shot, but goalkeeper Altay Bayındır made a timely intervention to deny the goal. In stoppage time (45+3), Oğuz Aydın received the ball on the right flank, broke free from his marker inside the penalty area and shot, but the ball rebounded off the goalkeeper. The first half ended with Turkey leading 2-0.

^{Turkey-North Macedonia match (AA)}

Turkey maintained the same attacking tempo in the second half. In the 53rd minute, Can Uzun delivered a precise long pass into the penalty area, and Deniz Gül headed it into the net to extend the lead to 3-0. In the 70th minute, Arda Güler delivered an elegant backheel pass to İrfan Can Kahveci on the right flank, who cut inside and squared the ball for Barış Alper Yılmaz to strike a clean shot and seal the match at 4-0.

In the 7th minute, Eren Elmalı received a head injury during a challenge for a high ball. He continued playing for approximately 20 more minutes and provided the assist for Turkey’s second goal. However, due to complaints of dizziness, he was substituted as a precaution and replaced by Zeki Çelik. Upon Elmalı’s exit, Mert Müldür moved to the left-back position while Zeki Çelik took over at right-back. After medical checks at the hospital, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) publicly confirmed that Elmalı had no serious health concerns.

Individually, the match featured several milestones. Twenty-year-old Can Uzun, playing for Eintracht Frankfurt, scored his first goal and provided an assist for Turkey’s senior national team. Deniz Gül, playing for Porto, netted his second international goal in his seventh appearance for Turkey (his first came against Spain). Additionally, Muhammed Şengezer of RAMS Başakşehir and Aral Şimşir of Midtjylland entered the match in the 63rd minute, replacing Altay Bayındır and Can Uzun respectively, marking their first-ever appearances for the Turkey senior national team. In the second half, Real Madrid’s Arda Güler, who warmed up on the sidelines, received enthusiastic support from the crowd at Chobani Stadium and responded with waves of appreciation.

In the post-match press conference, Turkey’s head coach Vincenzo Montella expressed satisfaction with the team’s performance and particularly praised the integration of young players such as Can Uzun, Aral Şimşir and Deniz Gül. Montella stated that the coaching staff aims to bring players like Kenan Yıldız, Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Kerem Aktürkoğlu, Arda Güler and Ferdi Kadıoğlu, who were absent or dealing with minor issues, to peak physical condition before the first World Cup match.

^{Vincenzo Montella (AA)}

North Macedonia’s head coach Goce Sedloski acknowledged Turkey’s deserved victory and accepted responsibility for the 4-0 defeat. He noted that his team is undergoing a restructuring phase, having failed to score in their last four matches, and emphasized efforts to address defensive weaknesses. North Macedonian players Ezgjan Alioski and sporting director Goran Pandev praised Turkey’s potential and expressed their support for Turkey’s World Cup campaign. Turkey’s goalkeeper Altay Bayındır highlighted that the team has had a strong preparation period, reiterated their goal of winning the trophy, and affirmed their readiness to quickly adapt to the climate conditions in the United States, where the matches will be played.

Following the North Macedonia match, Turkey’s training camp will continue in the state of Florida, United States. The national team is scheduled to play a second preparation match against Venezuela at the Inter Miami FC Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at 01:00 Turkey time on the final day of camp, before relocating to the main training base in Mesa, Arizona, ahead of their opening group match against Australia.

The 26-player final squad for the Türkiye national team, determined by technical director Vincenzo Montella, was announced to the sports public on 2 June 2026. The players included in the tournament squad and their respective clubs are categorized below according to their on-field positions:

• Goalkeepers: Altay Bayındır (Manchester United), Mert Günok (Fenerbahçe), and Uğurcan Çakır (Galatasaray) have been selected as goalkeepers.
• Defenders: The defenders comprising the backline are Abdülkerim Bardakcı (Galatasaray), Eren Elmalı (Galatasaray), Çağlar Söyüncü (Fenerbahçe), Mert Müldür (Fenerbahçe), Ferdi Kadıoğlu (Brighton), Merih Demiral (Al-Ahli), Ozan Kabak (Hoffenheim), Samet Akaydin (Çaykur Rizespor), and Zeki Çelik (Roma).
• Midfielders: The midfielders selected for the final squad are Hakan Çalhanoğlu (Inter), İsmail Yüksek (Fenerbahçe), Kaan Ayhan (Galatasaray), Orkun Kökçü (Beşiktaş), and Salih Özcan (Borussia Dortmund).
• Forwards: The forwards are Arda Güler (Real Madrid), Barış Alper Yılmaz (Galatasaray), Yunus Akgün (Galatasaray), Can Uzun (Eintracht Frankfurt), Deniz Gül (Porto), İrfan Can Kahveci (Kasımpaşa), Kenan Yıldız (Juventus), Kerem Aktürkoğlu, and Oğuz Aydın (Fenerbahçe).

According to the official announcement by the Turkish Football Federation^【1】, Muhammed Şengezer, Aral Şimşir, and Demir Ege Tıknaz, who were not included in the final 26-man squad, have been added to the delegation traveling to the United States. This decision is based on the player substitution rules outlined in the FIFA World Cup regulations. Current regulations permit teams to replace players in the squad due to injuries occurring before their first match of the tournament. Additionally, it has been specified that this substitution allowance for goalkeepers remains valid throughout the tournament. Under these rules, the three aforementioned players are traveling with the squad to be ready for potential inclusion in case of injury.

It has been announced that the Türkiye national team delegation will depart for Fort Lauderdale, United States, on 2 June 2026 at 13:30. The final preparatory match of the tournament campaign will be against the Venezuela national team. This preparatory fixture is scheduled for Sunday, 7 June 2026, at 01:00 Türkiye Time (TSİ), at the Inter Miami Stadium.