Turkey National Team Squad Announced: Omissions Draw Attention

With the announcement from the TFF at 11:00 on Tuesday morning, the final 26-man squad that the Turkey National Football Team will take to the 2026 FIFA World Cup became clear. The list determined by Vincenzo Montella generally included players who have been in form in recent months, but the exclusion of 9 players from the extended squad brought some serious debates. The announcement came after the team defeated North Macedonia 4-0 at Chobani Stadium on Monday night — and announcing the official squad right after a harmonious performance was good psychological timing. But decisions cannot always please everyone.

TURKEY'S 26-MAN WORLD CUP SQUAD:

Goalkeepers: Uğurcan Çakır (Galatasaray), Mert Günok (Fenerbahçe), Altay Bayındır (Manchester United)

Defenders: Abdülkerim Bardakcı (Galatasaray), Çağlar Söyüncü, Eren Elmalı, Ferdi Kadıoğlu (Brighton), Merih Demiral, Mert Müldür, Ozan Kabak, Samet Akaydın, Zeki Çelik

Midfielders: Hakan Çalhanoğlu (Inter), İsmail Yüksek, Kaan Ayhan, Orkun Kökçü (Beşiktaş), Salih Özcan

Forwards: Arda Güler (Real Madrid), Barış Alper Yılmaz (Galatasaray), Can Uzun (Eintracht Frankfurt), Deniz Gül, İrfan Can Kahveci, Kenan Yıldız (Juventus), Kerem Aktürkoğlu, Oğuz Aydın, Yunus Akgün

This squad is undoubtedly seen as Turkey's most talented World Cup squad in the last 20 years. Along with players coming from Europe's elite clubs like Arda Güler, the young star of Real Madrid, Hakan Çalhanoğlu, the brain of Inter, Kenan Yıldız who plays for Juventus and Altay Bayındır who guards the goal at Manchester United, the strongest names of Süper Lig also take part in the team. Uğurcan Çakır, Abdülkerim Bardakcı and Barış Alper Yılmaz from Galatasaray; Mert Günok from Fenerbahçe; Beşiktaş captain Orkun Kökçü — almost every top club of the domestic league is represented in the squad.

But the nine players who are out of the squad will also be talked about as much as those in the squad. Ersin Destanoğlu (Beşiktaş goalkeeper), Muhammed Şengezer (RAMS Başakşehir goalkeeper), Ahmetcan Kaplan, Mustafa Eskihellaç (Trabzonspor), Yusuf Akçiçek (defence), Atakan Karazor, Demir Ege Tıknaz, Aral Şimşir and Yusuf Sarı were left out of the list. In the announcement made by the TFF, it was stated that Muhammed Şengezer, Aral Şimşir and Demir Ege Tıknaz will be in the squad going to the USA to wait on standby for injury situations. According to World Cup instructions, teams can make player substitutions in case of injury before their first matches; for goalkeepers, this rule applies throughout the tournament. So these three names are not really out of the squad but could not enter the 23-man list.

The really attention-grabbing decision was the exclusion of Ahmetcan Kaplan and Mustafa Eskihellaç. According to information reported by Ertan Süzgün, Ahmetcan Kaplan was the first name to be removed from the extended squad, and this is also a signal that Montella prefers to set up the defence rotation with a different structure. The exclusion of Trabzonspor's young left-back/midfielder Mustafa Eskihellaç caused great disappointment in the burgundy-blue community; the player was also not in the squad for the North Macedonia preparation match on Monday night, so this decision was actually predictable. The fact that youngsters like Yusuf Akçiçek were also not included in the squad — especially considering that a player who could be a backup alternative in defence is needed — was criticised by some commentators. Montella's preference was to place experience before youth.

For Vincenzo Montella, this is the most critical turning point of his career. The Italian coach, who took over the A National Team in 2023, carried Turkey to the quarter-finals at EURO 2024 — this was the best performance to come in the last 16 years. Then he took the team to Group A in the UEFA Nations League. In the 2025-26 season World Cup qualifications, he completed the group competition behind Wales as 2nd and had to play the play-off. In March 2026, he beat Romania and got the World Cup ticket in the play-off final match against the winner of Slovakia/Kosovo. Montella's official record is now at the level of 24 official + 7 friendly matches = 31 matches (18 wins, 8 losses, 5 draws). The TFF signed a new 2-year contract with him; meaning Montella is planned to be at the head of the team during the 2028 EURO process as well.

Turkey will compete in Group D. The Ay-Yıldızlılar's first group match is on Sunday, June 14 against Australia, at the BC Place stadium in Vancouver, at 07:00 Turkish time in the morning. In the second match, Turkey will face Paraguay on Friday, June 19. The last match of the group stage will be played against host USA on Thursday morning, June 25 at 05:00. Considering the home advantage of the USA and the South American experience of Paraguay, the group looks challenging. But it is a big advantage that Turkey has players who play for Europe's elite clubs. Turkey's last World Cup adventure was in 2002 in South Korea and they won 3rd place in this tournament — the brightest moment in Turkish football history. Now after 24 years, the new generation of red-and-whites wants to represent this legacy once again at the top of the stage.

Montella's squad is quite balanced in terms of attack. When experienced midfield captains like Hakan Çalhanoğlu are added next to star-young players like Arda Güler and Kenan Yıldız, Turkey's strength in ball control and attack production increases. In the forward line, there are players who can score from different styles like Can Uzun (Eintracht Frankfurt), Deniz Gül and Barış Alper Yılmaz. In defence, Ferdi Kadıoğlu's Brighton experience and Merih Demiral's leadership are an important reference. The only negative in the preparation match was Eren Elmalı's injury; but the player's condition is not clear and he was included in the squad. If Eren cannot reach the tournament, Zeki Çelik or Mert Müldür is expected to take the role as left-back.

The A National Team departed on Tuesday afternoon on a special Turkish Airlines plane towards Fort Lauderdale in Florida. They will continue the preparation camp here and play their last preparation match against Venezuela at Inter Miami FC stadium at 01:00 Turkish time on Sunday, June 7. The main camp centre will be Arizona Mesa — from where they will go to the first Australia match on June 14. The door is not completely closed for the players who are out of the extended squad. According to FIFA rules, the list of 26 players will be finalised 24 hours before the first match; until that point, in case of injury, Şengezer, Şimşir or Tıknaz can come into play.

To summarise in a paragraph: The 2026 FIFA World Cup final squad of the Turkey National Football Team was officially announced on Tuesday morning. In the 26-man list determined by Montella, there are stars who play for Europe's elite clubs such as Arda Güler, Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Kenan Yıldız, Uğurcan Çakır. The exclusion of names like Ahmetcan Kaplan, Mustafa Eskihellaç and Yusuf Akçiçek became a matter of debate. Turkey is experiencing the excitement of participating in the World Cup after 24 years — and the goal is to remind us of the third-place miracle of 2002. The rivals in Group D are Australia, Paraguay and the USA. The first match is on June 14. Now eyes are turned to the final preparation to be made in Florida and the big journey that will start in Vancouver.

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