A Confident Rehearsal from Turkey: 4-0 vs North Macedonia

On Monday evening at Chobani Stadium Fenerbahçe Şükrü Saracoğlu Sports Complex in Kadıköy, in front of a stand full of red-and-white fans, the first curtain of Vincenzo Montella's Turkey opened on their 2026 World Cup journey. Turkey, FIFA-ranked 22 and taking the field with one of its strongest squads, defeated 67th-ranked North Macedonia 4-0. When the match ended the scoreboard was full of joy — but more importantly, the team had passed the first big test for the World Cup opening match against Australia with this victory.

The opening of the match was like a miracle. A moment that can be counted before the stadium even filled up: in the 2nd minute Oğuz Aydın cut inside from the left wing, dropped the ball to Orkun Kökçü in the box; the Beşiktaş midfielder rippled the net with a beautiful left-footed shot. 1-0. The whole stadium was on its feet. Only 110 seconds had passed. Vincenzo Montella's tactic — high press, fast transition attack, wide flank play — had reflected on the field. This opening was giving the message "this is either a rehearsal, or a signal that we are ready for the World Cup." 14 minutes later in the 16th minute Eren Elmalı used a deep pass from the left wing, Can Uzun made it 2-0 with a hard shot from inside the box. The match was only at the quarter mark, the gap had already gone to two.

But in the middle of the first half a small shadow fell. In the 27th minute Eren Elmalı left the field with an injury; Zeki Çelik took his place. For the young left-back, this situation was an unfortunate moment — Elmalı held an important place in the World Cup squad's left-back options. The extent of the injury, to be evaluated later by the physiotherapy team, could affect his return to the squad. Apart from this, the rest of the first half passed under control. When halftime closed 2-0, Turkey had attempted 19 shots and put 6 on target while North Macedonia could barely enter the opponent's half.

At halftime, Montella made three substitutions at once: Kaan Ayhan came in for Orkun Kökçü, Samet Akaydın for Ozan Kabak, İrfan Can Kahveci for Yunus Akgün. The North Macedonia coach made 6 substitutions all at once — showing a clear "rotation team" attitude. The second half began with new XIs. In the 53rd minute Can Uzun was on stage once again; this time on the assisting side. He dropped the ball to Deniz Gül in the crowded box; the young striker, whose transfer process to Eintracht Frankfurt was being discussed, sent the ball inside from the left post with the tip of his foot. 3-0. The stadium was burning with excitement.

In the 62nd and 63rd minutes another group of substitutions came: Arda Güler for Oğuz Aydın, Barış Alper Yılmaz for Deniz Gül, Mert Şengezer for Altay Bayındır, Merih Demiral for Çağlar Söyüncü. This was a Montella who was renewing almost his entire XI. It was clear that the real intention was to see the whole squad. In the 70th minute, the last act of the victory was written: Arda Güler saw İrfan Can Kahveci from the left with a great pass, Kahveci dropped the ball to the right of the penalty spot. Barış Alper Yılmaz rippled the net with a single shot. 4-0. The rest of the match passed like a training session. In the 88th minute came a symbolic moment: Hakan Çalhanoğlu came on with the captain's armband — to catch a rhythm before the World Cup even for a short time.

The statistics confirm the dominance of the match. The Expected Goals (xG) table is Turkey 2.57 - North Macedonia 0.83. Possession: 60%-40%. Total shots: 19-6. Big chances: 4-1. Ball touches in opponent box: 34-12. These figures are figures that would even be considered good in a European playoff — in a friendly match, they show how deep the superiority is. Munuera Montero (Spain), the whistled referee, didn't even need to make a noteworthy decision throughout the match.

Vincenzo Montella's discourse also emphasized that the match was not just a "rehearsal" but part of a meaningful test. In his pre-match statement, he said "Actually a very important match. You represent a country, so we don't have a concept of friendly match. We also want to evaluate our players who get less time at their clubs. At the same time, we want to protect our players who have had minor injuries." The Italian coach's record with the A National Team for two years includes 24 official and 7 friendly matches; 18 wins, 8 losses, 5 draws. With this victory, the record got even stronger. He showed that he stuck to the rotation logic by making 9 changes in the squad after the Kosovo match.

As for the squad situation, an interesting picture lies in the 35-man wide list determined by Montella. In goal Altay Bayındır, Uğurcan Çakır and Mert Şengezer; in defence experienced names like Merih Demiral, Çağlar Söyüncü, Ozan Kabak, Samet Akaydın, Zeki Çelik, Eren Elmalı, Mert Müldür; in midfield different styles like Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Orkun Kökçü, Kaan Ayhan, Salih Özcan, İsmail Yüksek, Arda Güler, Yunus Akgün, Can Uzun, Oğuz Aydın; in attack options like Deniz Gül, Barış Alper Yılmaz, Cenk Tosun, Kenan Yıldız and İrfan Can Kahveci. A wide and flexible squad. The names that stood out among Turkey's cheers on Monday night were Can Uzun and Arda Güler — the place of the two youngsters in the World Cup looks solid.

Turkey's World Cup journey was guaranteed by playoffs after September 2025 - November 2025 qualifiers. The red-and-whites, who went through a tough process in the Wales group, got the ticket with a difficult battle against Denmark in the March 2026 playoff. Now the journey is towards America. Turkey flew to Florida on Tuesday morning after Monday's match; the second friendly match they will play against Venezuela at Inter Miami FC Stadium on Sunday, June 7 at Turkish time 01:00 is the start of the squad's trans-Atlantic adventure. The main camp will be in Arizona Mesa. The first group match is with Australia.

To summarise in a paragraph: On Monday night at Chobani Stadium, Turkey didn't just defeat North Macedonia 4-0 — Montella's team also wanted to show that they were ready for the World Cup. Orkun Kökçü's goal at the 110th second set the tone throughout the match. Can Uzun, Deniz Gül, and Barış Alper Yılmaz were added to the names while Arda Güler stamped with his assist. Eren Elmalı's injury was the only shadow. But with the final whistle a fact became clear: Turkey is going to the 2026 World Cup not just as "a participating team" but as "an ambitious candidate." The Venezuela match on June 7 will be the second rehearsal of this claim.

Image: gdh.digital