Kenan Yıldız's call: "We will make our people proud"

Turkey's star player Kenan Yıldız spoke at a pre-match press conference ahead of facing the USA at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Despite the disappointment experienced at the tournament, the young footballer stressed they would not give up the fight and would do everything they could to make the Turkish people proud.

Touching on the team's morale, Kenan Yıldız said the results had saddened everyone but that they were not ashamed of their football: "Everyone is very sad. That's football. Sometimes even if you put what you want onto the pitch, you don't get what you want. I don't think we lost by playing badly." The young player also stood out with a determined message for the future: "We will give everything for the future. We want to make children and people in Turkey dream. We will work to make our people proud."

Turning to the USA match, Kenan Yıldız recalled that they had played strong opponents in both games and said they were aiming for an honourable result: "The result can always change. In both games we faced very good teams and got very saddening results. In the USA game, I want to get a result that lets us hold our heads high." The international also said the World Cup was not a missed opportunity for his career, adding: "I will do my best to be at tournaments with the Turkey shirt in the future too."

Saying he could not start the tournament as he wished because of injury, Kenan Yıldız also admitted he was not yet at his physical best: "Because I got injured, the start was very hard for me. I couldn't give 100% physically, but tomorrow we will do the best we can for our people." Stressing he is used to fan pressure, the young star concluded: "You mentioned the USA fans; I remember from Galatasaray away games too, I am used to playing in front of big crowds."

Image: Oggusto