Turkiye World Cup 2026 squad: Vincenzo Montella's latest squad ahead of the March play-offs

Jump To:SquadFixtures and resultsManagerStar playerBest XICopy linkFacebookXPinterestEmailShare this article0Join the conversationFollow usAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleNewsletterFour Four TwoGet the FourFourTwo NewsletterThe best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.Become a Member in Seconds Unlock instant access to exclusive member features.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.You are now subscribedYour newsletter sign-up was successfulWant to add more newsletters?Five times a weekFourFourTwo DailyFantastic football content straight to your inbox! 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Never miss a kick-off!Signup +Join the clubGet full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.Explore An account already exists for this email address, please log in.Subscribe to our newsletterThe Turkiye World Cup 2026 squad is beginning to take shape.The World Cup is just around the corner, with Turkiye looking to crash the party, with the March internationals providing a play-off opportunity and should they make the competition, it's fair to say that though they won't be one of the favourites, Vincenzo Montella will have one of the most exciting young squads in the tournament.Incredibly, Turkiye haven't so much as been to a World Cup since 2002, when they went on a mad run to the semi-finals and beat South Korea in the third-place play-off.Article continues below You may like Romania World Cup 2026 squad: Mircea Lucescu's latest selection ahead of the World Cup qualifying play-offs England World Cup 2026 squad: Thomas Tuchel's latest squad ahead of the March internationals Brazil World Cup 2026 squad: Carlo Ancelotti's latest squad ahead March internationals Plenty has changed for The Crescent-Stars in the two decades since, but a good performance at Euro 2024 has the nation hoping for a return to the world stage, led by veteran controller Hakan Calhanoglu pulling the strings.Turkiye's new generation could well become world-beaters, too: Arda Guler is ranked at no.10 in FourFourTwo's list of the best attacking midfielders in the world right now, and Kenan Yildiz at no.11 in the best left-wingers in the world right now with both included in the latest squad to face Romania and Slovakia or Kosovo this month.Eintracht Frankfurt starlet Can Uzun, meanwhile, hasn't made the squad this time around but will hoping that he can stake a claim in the final selection this summer, with FourFourTwo's Joe Donnohue describing him in a report recently for The Boy's A Bit Special as having a calmness and composure to [his] game when he's on the ball, which translates directly to his finishing.Turkiye are expected to make it to North America but with the likes of Caglar Soyuncu and Okay Yokuslu missing out on this latest squad, Montella will have to rely on depth to achieve something no Turkiye manager has in a generation.Get FourFourTwo NewsletterThe best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.Turkiye World Cup 2026 squad: The March selectionTurkiye World Cup 2026 squad: The latest squadGK: Mert Gunok (Fenerbahce)GK: Ugurcan Cakir (Galatasaray)GK: Altay Bayindir (Manchester United)GK: Muhammed Sengezer (Istanbul Basaksehir)DF: Merih Demiral (Al-Ahli)DF: Zeki Celik (Roma)DF: Mert Muldur (Fenerbahce)DF: Ferdi Kadioglu (Brighton & Hove Albion)DF: Ozan Kabak (Hoffenheim)DF: Abdulkerim Bardakci (Galatasaray)DF: Eren Elmali (Galatasaray)DF: Samet Akaydin (Caykur Rizespor)DF: Mustafa Eskihellac (Trabzonspor)DF: Ahmetcan Kaplan (NEC)MF: Hakan Calhanoglu (Inter Milan)MF: Kaan Ayhan (Galatasaray)MF: Orkun Kokcu (Besiktas)MF: Ismail Yuksek (Fenerbahce)MF: Salih Ozcan (Borussia Dortmund)MF: Atakan Karazor (VfB Stuttgart)FW: Kerem Akturkoglu (Fenerbahce)FW: Irfan Kahveci (Fenerbahce)FW: Baris Alper Yilmaz (Galatasaray)FW: Arda Guler (Real Madrid)FW: Kenan Yildiz (Juventus)FW: Yunus Akgun (Galatasaray)FW: Oguz Aydin (Fenerbahce)FW: Deniz Gul (Porto)FW: Semih Kilicsoy (Cagliari)FW: Aral Simsir (Midtjylland)England fixtures and resultsFixturesMarch 26, 2026: Turkiye vs Romania, Beikta Stadium, Istanbul, TurkiyeMarch 31, 2026: Slovakia or Kosovo vs Turkiye, TBC (Bratislava or Pristina)Recent resultsMarch 20, 2025: Turkiye 31 Hungary, Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi, Istanbul, TurkiyeMarch 23, 2025: Hungary 03 Turkiye, Pusks Arna, Budapest, HungaryJune 7, 2025: United States 12 Turkiye, Pratt & Whitney Stadium, East Hartford, United StatesJune 10, 2025: Mexico 10 Turkiye, Kenan Stadium, Chapel Hill, United StatesSeptember 4, 2025: Georgia 23 Turkiye, Boris Paichadze National Stadium, Tbilisi, GeorgiaSeptember 7, 2025: Turkiye 06 Spain, Konya Metropolitan Municipality Stadium, Konya, TurkiyeOctober 11, 2025: Bulgaria 16 Turkiye, Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, BulgariaOctober 14, 2025: Turkiye 41 Georgia, Kocaeli Stadium, zmit, TurkiyeNovember 15, 2025: Turkiye 20 Bulgaria, Centennial Atatrk Stadium, Bursa, TurkiyeNovember 18, 2025: Spain 22 Turkiye, Estadio de La Cartuja, Seville, SpainTurkiye manager: Vincenzo MontellaVincenzo Montella is best remembered by European football fans for being a stalwart of Roma's last title-winning side and for that 2007 loan at Fulham but since retiring, he's floated around Europe with short stints at the likes of Milan, Sevilla and Fiorentina as a manager. A spell at Adana Demirspor set him up for the Turkish national job, where he's been in charge since before the last Euros.Turkiye's star playerArda GulerPraised by Mesut Ozil as his heir and compared to Lionel Messi, Arda Guler is perhaps the most exciting Turkish talent for a generation, having broken through at Fenerbahce before his move to Real Madrid. A no.10 with intensity driving forward and a wicked left foot, he has six goals for his country already, including three in 2025's qualification campaign and that stormer against Georgia in Dortmund at the Euros.Best XITOPICSWorld Cup 2026Mark WhiteSocial Links NavigationContent EditorMark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robsons time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.