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Turkey

Nickname(s)	Ay-Yıldızlılar (The Crescent-Stars)[1]
Association	Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu (TFF)
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Şenol Güneş (from 1 June)[2]
Captain	Mehmet Topal
Most caps	Rüştü Reçber (120)
Top scorer	Hakan Şükür (51)
FIFA code	TUR[3]
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	41 2 (7 February 2019)[4]
Highest	5 (June 2004)
Lowest	67 (October 1993)
Elo ranking
Current	36 2 (27 March 2019)[5]
Highest	10 (16 October 2002, November 2002)
Lowest	72 (13 November 1985, 29 October 1986)
First international
Turkey 2–2 Romania  (Istanbul, Turkey; 26 October 1923)[6]
Biggest win
Turkey 7–0 Syria  (Ankara, Turkey; 20 November 1949)  Turkey 7–0 South Korea  (Geneva, Switzerland; 20 June 1954)  Turkey 7–0 San Marino  (Istanbul, Turkey; 10 November 1996)
Biggest defeat
Poland 8–0 Turkey  (Chorzów, Poland; 24 April 1968)  Turkey 0–8 England  (Istanbul, Turkey; 14 November 1984)  England 8–0 Turkey  (London, England; 14 October 1987)
World Cup
Appearances	2 (first in 1954)
Best result	Third place, 2002
European Championship
Appearances	4 (first in 1996)
Best result	Semi-finals, 2008
Confederations Cup
Appearances	1 (first in 2003)
Best result	Third place, 2003

The Turkey national football team (Turkish: Türkiye Millî Futbol Takımı) represents Turkey in association football and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Turkey. They are affiliated with UEFA.

Turkey has qualified three times for the FIFA World Cup, in 1950, 1954, and 2002, although they withdrew from the 1950 event. Turkey has also qualified four times for the UEFA European Championship, in 1996, 2000, 2008, and 2016. They have reached the semi-finals of three major tournaments: the 2002 World Cup, the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup, and Euro 2008. After their third-place finish at the 2002 World Cup, which marked a high point in Turkish football history, Turkey occupied a spot in the top ten of the FIFA World Rankings for the first time since the rankings were introduced in December 1992.^[7]

History

Turkey against Romania in 1923.

Early years

The Turkey national team played their first ever match against Romania in 1923, drawing 2–2.^[8]Zeki Rıza Sporel is considered as the first big star of Turkish football as he scored the first two goals against Romania. Turkey played their first ever official match at the 1924 Summer Olympics losing 5–2 to Czechoslovakia.

1950 FIFA World Cup

Although Turkey qualified for the 1950 World Cup, beating Syria 7–0, they were forced to withdraw from the tournament due to financial problems.

1954 FIFA World Cup

Turkey then qualified for the 1954 World Cup after a play-off with Spain. The Turkish team first lost 4–1 to Spain, but a 1–0 win a few days later initiated a replay. On that occasion, they tied 2–2 after, booking their place after a coin toss. Turkey was put in a group along with Hungary and West Germany. The Turks, however, never played Hungary due to the tournament format, and a 4–1 defeat by the Germans was followed by Turkey carrying out a 7–0 win over South Korea. Turkey lost the play-off to West Germany 7–2. In 1956, however, Turkey did play Hungary in a friendly match in Istanbul, defeating what was one of the strongest teams of the era, 3–1.^[9]Lefter Küçükandonyadis, arguably one of the best Turkish strikers of all-time, scored two goals during the tournament.

Near misses

Despite the introduction of a national league, and showings by Turkish clubs in European competition, the 1960s would be a barren time for the national team. Most players from the 1954 World Cup squad were retired, and the new generation of players failed to qualify for a major tournament. The 1970s saw Turkey holding back in the World Cup and UEFA European Championship qualifiers, but the team was a point too short to qualify for both UEFA Euro 1972 and Euro 1976. In the 1980s the Turkish team also suffered their worst defeats with 8–0 scorelines against Poland and twice against England. Yet the 1990 World Cup qualifiers would mark a turning point for Turkish football, with Turkey only missing out on qualification in the final match. Prominent players in this period included Rıdvan Dilmen, Oğuz Çetin, Rıza Çalımbay, Feyyaz Uçar, and European Golden Boot winner Tanju Çolak.

1990–1996

In 1990, German coach Sepp Piontek was put in charge of the national team. Under his guidance, a group of new players debuted for the national team. Many of these players (which included Bülent Korkmaz, Alpay Özalan, Sergen Yalçın, Rüştü Reçber, and Hakan Şükür) would become the backbone of the national team for many years. Piontek's mission came to an end in 1993, where he was replaced by Fatih Terim, who in turn managed to qualify for Euro 1996. Turkey qualified for its first major tournament since 1954, marking another turning point for Turkish football after having failed to qualify for both Euro 1992 and the 1994 World Cup. The appointment of Piontek was a recommended move by another German coach, Jupp Derwall, who had coached Galatasaray for three seasons. Derwall is regarded as the revolutionizer of Turkish football, since his introduction of modern Western European training techniques and tactical ideas to the Turkish game also heavily influenced the national team.

Euro 1996

Turkey national football team on an Azerbaijan stamp for Euro 1996.

Turkey qualified for Euro 1996, defeating both Switzerland and Sweden 2–1 en route during qualification. Despite a solid performance during the qualifiers, Turkey lost all their matches without scoring a single goal. They did, however, go home with an award: the fair-play award, given to Alpay Özalan.

Euro 2000

Although Turkey failed to qualify for the 1998 World Cup, they qualified for Euro 2000 after winning a play-off against the Republic of Ireland. Turkey lost their first match 2–1 to Italy, they drew their second match against Sweden 0–0, and beat host nation Belgium 2–0, making it the first time in the history of the UEFA European Championship a host nation had been eliminated in the first round. This victory brought Turkey into the last eight of the tournament, where they were beaten 2–0 by Portugal, with Arif Erdem missing a critical penalty.

2002 FIFA World Cup

For the 2002 World Cup, Turkey finished second in their qualifying group, despite starting well and being the favourites to top the group. They lost 2–1 to Sweden in the crucial match that would decide the top spot. The Turks were forced to play the play-offs against Austria. They defeated the Austrians 6–0 on aggregate and booked their place at the finals. The Turkish team started the 2002 World Cup with a 2–1 defeat against eventual winners Brazil.^[10] Turkey qualified from the group stage with a 3–0 win against China PR after drawing 1–1 with Costa Rica.^[11][12]

Turkey then faced home team Japan in the second round, winning 1–0.^[13] The Turkish team continued their run, as they beat Senegal 1–0 on a golden goal to book their place in the semi-finals, where a 1–0 defeat against eventual tournament winners Brazil forced them to play the third place match, and a bronze medal was won after a 3–2 victory over co-hosts South Korea.^[14][15][16] Hakan Şükür scored Turkey's first goal in 10.8 seconds, even when the South Koreans kicked off first. It was the fastest goal in World Cup history.^[17][18]
Tens of thousands of flag-waving Turkish fans greeted the World Cup squad on their return to Istanbul, where they joined a massive street party at Taksim Square.^[19] Rüştü Reçber, Alpay Özalan and Hasan Şaş were all included in the All-Star Team, with Reçber also being voted as the best goalkeeper in the UEFA Team of the Year 2002, while Şenol Güneş was being voted as the best manager.

2003 FIFA Confederations Cup

In the summer of 2003, Turkey reached third place at the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup. In the group stages, Turkey defeated the United States 2–1 before losing to Cameroon 0–1. In their final group match, Turkey drew 2–2 against Brazil, eliminating them from the tournament. Turkey lost to eventual tournament winners France 3–2 in the semi-final match. Turkey then defeated Colombia 2–1 to win the bronze medal. Tuncay Şanlı scored three goals and made an assist, which won him the Silver Shoe Award and the Silver Ball Award for the second best player of the tournament.

Euro 2004

The Turkish team failed to qualify for Euro 2004 on play-offs due to a loss to Latvia after finishing second in their group. This marked a turning point for the national team as new players were introduced to the national team to create a new generation.

2006 FIFA World Cup

The Turkish team once again narrowly missed out on the World Cup finals after failing to win a play-off, this time on away goals against Switzerland, again after finishing second in their group. There were scenes of violence after the game on and off the pitch where the Turkish team brawled with Swiss players down the tunnel.

Turkey against France on 5 June 2009.

Euro 2008

Turkey qualified for their first international tournament in six years by finishing second behind Greece in Euro 2008 qualifying Group C to reach the Euro 2008 final stages. They were placed alongside Switzerland, Portugal and the Czech Republic in Group A. In their first match, they played Portugal and were beaten 2–0, but wins over Switzerland (2–1) and the Czech Republic (3–2) – both secured by late goals – brought qualification for the knockout stages.^[20][21][22] Again, Turkey knocked out a host nation – Switzerland – in the group stages for the second time.^[23]

The quarter-final against Croatia was goalless after 90 minutes, and Croatia led 1–0 in the final minute of extra time, but another late Turkish goal by forward Semih Şentürk brought the game to penalties. The goal raised some controversy with Croatia fans and Croatia head coach Slaven Bilić, who claimed that the goal had been scored after extra time had elapsed. This complaint, however, was overruled, and the game went into penalties. Turkey defeated Croatia in penalties, 3–1.^[24]

Turkey went into the semi-final against Germany with just 14 outfield players available as a result of injuries and suspensions, but scored first and were drawing 2–2. But they finished third by default after losing 3–2 with a last minute goal by Philipp Lahm.^[25] Both Russia and Turkey were given bronze medals in the dressing rooms after the semi-finals.

2010 FIFA World Cup

The Turkish team during the UEFA Euro 2012 qualification.

For the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, Turkey had a mixed qualifying campaign, finishing with 15 points and missing out on a play-off place to Bosnia and Herzegovina with 19 points. Spain topped the group to qualify, winning every game in the process. Coach Fatih Terim announced he would be resigning his post following their failure to qualify.^[26]

Euro 2012

Turkey were drawn in Group A in qualification for Euro 2012, together with Kazakhstan, Austria, Belgium, Germany and Azerbaijan. The Turkish team reached the play-offs after beating Azerbaijan 1–0 but got eliminated 3–0 on aggregate by Croatia.
On 14 November 2012, Turkey celebrated their 500th match in a friendly game played against Denmark at the Türk Telekom Arena, Istanbul, which ended in a 1–1 draw. Before the match, footballers and coaches, who contributed to the national team's success in the past, were honoured. Turkish pop singer Hadise, who wore a national team jersey with the number 500, performed a small concert.^[27][28]

2014 FIFA World Cup

Turkey against Austria on 29 March 2016.

Turkey were drawn in Group D in qualification for the 2014 World Cup, together with Andorra, Estonia, Hungary, the Netherlands and Romania, finishing fourth. Turkey began to lose critical points during qualification and Abdullah Avcı was sacked soon after. Fatih Terim was put in charge for the third time to lead the national team, but a 2–0 defeat against the Netherlands ended hopes of qualification.

Euro 2016

Turkey were drawn in Group A in the qualification campaign for the Euro 2016, together with Iceland, Latvia, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. The Turkish team qualified for their first major tournament in eight years as the best third-placed team after beating Iceland 1–0, with Selçuk İnan netting a free kick in the 89th minute. After over 18 months unbeaten, a loss to England as a pre-tournament friendly ended the team's winning streak, subsequently leading to back-to-back losses against Croatia and Spain in the tournament. Turkey won their last game against the Czech Republic, 2–0. They were minutes away from reaching the last 16, until a late winner for Ireland against Italy meant that the latter instead qualified as one of the best third-placed teams. Despite elimination, youngster Emre Mor's skillful display and assist during the game revealed a hopeful future for Turkish football.

2018 FIFA World Cup

Turkey were drawn in UEFA Group I for the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign. During the qualifiers, head coach Fatih Terim stood down after an off-field incident,^[29] and 72-year-old former Romania manager Mircea Lucescu took over. After eight games, Turkey stood a strong chance of qualifying for the tournament, but a 0–3 defeat against Iceland at home ended automatic qualification hopes. After a 2–2 draw against Finland the team finished fourth in Group I.

Fixtures and results

2018

Turkey  v  Iran

28 May Friendly	Turkey	2–1	Iran	Istanbul, Turkey
21:15 (UTC+3)	Tosun  6', 50'	Report	Dejagah  90+2' (pen.)	Stadium: Başakşehir Fatih Terim Stadium Referee: Valentin Kovalenko (Uzbekistan)

Tunisia  v  Turkey

1 June Friendly	Tunisia	2–2	Turkey	Geneva, Switzerland
20:15 (UTC+2)	Badri  56' Sassi  79'	Report	Tosun  54' (pen.) Söyüncü  90'	Stadium: Stade de Genève Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Fedayi San (Switzerland)

Russia  v  Turkey

5 June Friendly	Russia	1–1	Turkey	Moscow, Russia
19:00 (UTC+3)	Samedov  35'	Report	Mallı  59'	Stadium: VEB Arena Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Ovidiu Hațegan (Romania)

Turkey  v  Russia

7 September 2018–19 UEFA Nations League	Turkey	1–2	Russia	Trabzon, Turkey
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3)	Aziz  41'	Report	Cheryshev  13' Dzyuba  49'	Stadium: Şenol Güneş Stadium Attendance: 29,702 Referee: Artur Soares Dias (Portugal)

Sweden  v  Turkey

10 September 2018–19 UEFA Nations League	Sweden	2–3	Turkey	Solna, Sweden
20:45 (20:45 UTC+2)	Kiese Thelin  35' Claesson  49'	Report	Çalhanoğlu  51' Akbaba  88', 90+2'	Stadium: Friends Arena Attendance: 21,832 Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano (Spain)

Turkey  v  Bosnia and Herzegovina

11 October Friendly	Turkey	0–0	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Rize, Turkey
20:30 (UTC+3)		Report		Stadium: Yeni Rize Şehir Stadium Referee: Sergei Karasev (Russia)

Russia  v  Turkey

14 October 2018–19 UEFA Nations League	Russia	2–0	Turkey	Sochi, Russia
18:00 (19:00 UTC+3)	Neustädter  20' Cheryshev  78'	Report		Stadium: Fisht Olympic Stadium Attendance: 38,288 Referee: Paweł Raczkowski (Poland)

Turkey  v  Sweden

17 November 2018–19 UEFA Nations League	Turkey	0–1	Sweden	Konya, Turkey
18:00 (20:00 UTC+3)		Report	Granqvist  71' (pen.)	Stadium: Konya Büyükşehir Stadium Referee: István Kovács (Romania)

Turkey  v  Ukraine

20 November Friendly	Turkey	0–0	Ukraine	Antalya, Turkey
19:30 (UTC+2)		Report		Stadium: Antalya Arena Referee: Genc Nuza (Kosovo)

2019

Albania  v  Turkey

22 March UEFA Euro 2020 Q	Albania	0–2	Turkey	Shkodër, Albania
20:45 (UTC+1)		Report	Yılmaz  21' Çalhanoğlu  55'	Stadium: Loro Boriçi Stadium Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Tobias Stieler (Germany)

Turkey  v  Moldova

25 March UEFA Euro 2020 Q	Turkey	4–0	Moldova	Eskişehir, Turkey
20:00 (UTC+3)	Kaldırım  24' Tosun  26', 54' Ayhan  70'	Report		Stadium: New Eskişehir Stadium Referee: Serhiy Boyko (Ukraine)

Turkey  v  France

8 June UEFA Euro 2020 Q	Turkey	v	France	Konya, Turkey
21:45 (UTC+3)		Report		Stadium: Büyükşehir Stadium

Iceland  v  Turkey

11 June UEFA Euro 2020 Q	Iceland	v	Turkey	Reykjavík, Iceland
18:45 (UTC±0)		Report		Stadium: Laugardalsvöllur

Turkey  v  Andorra

7 September UEFA Euro 2020 Q	Turkey	v	Andorra	Turkey
21:45 (UTC+3)		Report

Moldova  v  Turkey

10 September UEFA Euro 2020 Q	Moldova	v	Turkey	Chișinău, Moldova
21:45 (UTC+3)		Report		Stadium: Zimbru Stadium

Turkey  v  Albania

11 October UEFA Euro 2020 Q	Turkey	v	Albania	Turkey
21:45 (UTC+3)		Report

France  v  Turkey

14 October UEFA Euro 2020 Q	France	v	Turkey	Saint-Denis, France
20:45 (UTC+2)		Report		Stadium: Stade de France

Turkey  v  Iceland

14 November UEFA Euro 2020 Q	Turkey	v	Iceland	Turkey
20:00 (UTC+3)		Report

Andorra  v  Turkey

17 November UEFA Euro 2020 Q	Andorra	v	Turkey	Andorra la Vella, Andorra
20:45 (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Estadi Nacional

Personnel

Şenol Güneş, the current manager of the Turkey national football team.

Current technical staff

Position	Name
Head coach	Şenol Güneş
Assistant coach(es)	Kerem Yavaş
	Nedim Yiğit
Fitness coach	Mike Verhoeven
Goalkeeping coach	Eren Aytekin
Nurese	Sarper Çetinkaya

Players

Current squad

The following players have been called up for the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying matches against Albania and Moldova, on 22 and 25 March 2019.
All caps and goals as of 25 March 2019 after match against Moldova.^[30].mw-parser-output .nat-fs-player thbackground-color:inherit;border:0.mw-parser-output .nat-fs-player tdtext-align:center;border:0

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Sinan Bolat	(1988-09-03) 3 September 1988 (age 30)	11	0	Antwerp
12	1GK	Mert Günok	(1989-03-01) 1 March 1989 (age 30)	8	0	İstanbul Başakşehir
23	1GK	Uğurcan Çakır	(1996-04-05) 5 April 1996 (age 22)	0	0	Trabzonspor
7	2DF	Gökhan Gönül	(1985-01-04) 4 January 1985 (age 34)	66	1	Beşiktaş
3	2DF	Hasan Ali Kaldırım	(1989-12-09) 9 December 1989 (age 29)	30	1	Fenerbahçe
4	2DF	Çağlar Söyüncü	(1996-05-23) 23 May 1996 (age 22)	22	1	Leicester City
22	2DF	Kaan Ayhan	(1994-11-10) 10 November 1994 (age 24)	20	1	Fortuna Düsseldorf
2	2DF	Zeki Çelik	(1997-02-17) 17 February 1997 (age 22)	6	0	Lille
13	2DF	Emre Taşdemir	(1995-08-08) 8 August 1995 (age 23)	4	0	Galatasaray
16	2DF	Merih Demiral	(1998-03-05) 5 March 1998 (age 21)	3	0	Sassuolo
18	2DF	Ozan Kabak	(2000-03-25) 25 March 2000 (age 19)	0	0	Stuttgart
5	3MF	Emre Belözoğlu (Captain)	(1980-09-07) 7 September 1980 (age 38)	97	9	İstanbul Başakşehir
10	3MF	Hakan Çalhanoğlu (3rd captain)	(1994-02-08) 8 February 1994 (age 25)	40	10	Milan
19	3MF	Yunus Mallı	(1992-02-24) 24 February 1992 (age 27)	24	1	VfL Wolfsburg
6	3MF	Okay Yokuşlu	(1994-03-09) 9 March 1994 (age 25)	21	1	Celta
11	3MF	Yusuf Yazıcı	(1997-01-29) 29 January 1997 (age 22)	11	0	Trabzonspor
14	3MF	Mahmut Tekdemir	(1988-01-20) 20 January 1988 (age 31)	10	0	İstanbul Başakşehir
20	3MF	Deniz Türüç	(1993-01-29) 29 January 1993 (age 26)	4	0	Kayserispor
8	3MF	Dorukhan Toköz	(1996-05-21) 21 May 1996 (age 22)	2	0	Beşiktaş
	3MF	Efecan Karaca	(1989-11-16) 16 November 1989 (age 29)	1	0	Alanyaspor
21	3MF	Emre Kılınç	(1994-08-23) 23 August 1994 (age 24)	0	0	Sivasspor
15	3MF	Güven Yalçın	(1999-01-18) 18 January 1999 (age 20)	0	0	Beşiktaş
17	4FW	Burak Yılmaz (Vice-captain)	(1985-07-15) 15 July 1985 (age 33)	54	24	Beşiktaş
9	4FW	Cenk Tosun	(1991-06-07) 7 June 1991 (age 27)	37	13	Everton

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team within the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Muhammed Şengezer	(1997-01-05) 5 January 1997 (age 22)	0	0	Bursaspor	v.  Albania, 22 March 2019PRE
GK	Gökhan Akkan	(1995-01-01) 1 January 1995 (age 24)	0	0	Çaykur Rizespor	v.  Russia, 14 October 2018
GK	Harun Tekin	(1989-06-17) 17 June 1989 (age 29)	2	0	Fenerbahçe	v.  Russia, 5 June 2018
GK	Volkan Babacan	(1988-08-11) 11 August 1988 (age 30)	35	0	İstanbul Başakşehir	v.  Iran, 28 May 2018INJ
DF	Serdar Aziz	(1990-10-23) 23 October 1990 (age 28)	17	2	Fenerbahçe	v.  Sweden, 17 November 2018INJ
DF	Şener Özbayraklı	(1990-01-23) 23 January 1990 (age 29)	19	0	Fenerbahçe	v.  Russia, 14 October 2018
DF	Uğur Demirok	(1988-07-08) 8 July 1988 (age 30)	3	0	Trabzonspor	v.  Montenegro, 27 March 2018
DF	Ömer Toprak	(1989-07-21) 21 July 1989 (age 29)	27	2	Borussia Dortmund	v.  Republic of Ireland, 23 March 2018PRE
MF	Mehmet Topal	(1986-03-03) 3 March 1986 (age 33)	81	2	Fenerbahçe	v.  Albania, 22 March 2019PRE
MF	Oğuzhan Özyakup	(1992-09-23) 23 September 1992 (age 26)	41	1	Beşiktaş	v.  Albania, 22 March 2019PRE
MF	İrfan Kahveci	(1995-06-15) 15 June 1995 (age 23)	6	0	İstanbul Başakşehir	v.  Albania, 22 March 2019PRE
MF	Berkay Özcan	(1998-02-15) 15 February 1998 (age 21)	3	0	VfB Stuttgart	v.  Russia, 14 October 2018
MF	Emre Akbaba	(1992-10-04) 4 October 1992 (age 26)	6	3	Galatasaray	v.  Sweden, 10 September 2018INJ
MF	Abdülkadir Ömür	(1999-06-25) 25 June 1999 (age 19)	0	0	Trabzonspor	v.  Sweden, 10 September 2018
MF	Deniz Türüç	(1993-01-29) 29 January 1993 (age 26)	2	0	Kayserispor	v.  Russia, 5 June 2018
MF	Alper Potuk	(1991-04-08) 8 April 1991 (age 27)	17	1	Fenerbahçe	v.  Montenegro, 27 March 2018
MF	Selçuk İnan	(1985-02-10) 10 February 1985 (age 34)	61	8	Galatasaray	v.  Republic of Ireland, 23 March 2018
FW	Umut Bulut	(1983-03-15) 15 March 1983 (age 36)	39	10	Kayserispor	v.  Russia, 5 June 2018
FW	Emre Mor	(1997-07-24) 24 July 1997 (age 21)	15	1	Celta	v.  Republic of Ireland, 23 March 2018PRE

Notes

• 
  ^PRE = Preliminary squad.


• 
  ^INJ = Not part of the current squad due to injury.

Previous squads

Rivalries

Turkey has developed several notable rivalries, the most well-known being with Croatia^[31] and Greece.

Turkey and Croatia have played each other 9 times,^[32] with their first encounter at Euro 1996; where both countries made their debuts in the opening match, which Croatia won 1–0.^[33] A well-remembered match between them was at Euro 2008, which Turkey won on penalties after a 1–1 deadlock even after extra-time. With the win, Turkey reached the semi-finals in only their third appearance overall at the Euro finals.^[34] The two teams faced each other in the 2012 Euro qualifying play-offs, with Croatia winning 3–0 in the first-leg in Istanbul, and advancing to the tournament finals following a 0–0 draw in the second-leg.^[35][36] The two teams faced each other once again in a European competition at Euro 2016, playing in the opening match of Group D; with Croatia winning 1–0 through a sensational Luka Modrić volley.^[37][38] Only three months after the match at the Euros, the two teams played in their opening match in Group I of 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying, which finished 1–1.^[39] Exactly one year after this, Turkey won the reverse fixture 1–0 at home, which played a key part in both countries' qualifying campaign.^[40][41]

Turkey also has a historical rivalry with Greece; having played them a total of 13 times, winning seven, drawing three and losing three games.^[42] Both countries have been described as "punching above their weight"; with Greece winning Euro 2004 despite being classified as underdogs prior to the competition, and Turkey followed-up their World Cup semi-final appearance in 2002 by advancing to the semi-finals of Euro 2008, where they were knocked out by Germany. Due to tension between the two countries and the dispute over Cyprus, coupled with several incidents occurring during matches between Turkish and Greek clubs, it has been described as one of the biggest international football rivalries.^[43]

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record										FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Did not enter									–	–	–	–	–	–
1934	Withdrew									–	–	–	–	–	–
1938	Did not enter									–	–	–	–	–	–
1950	Qualified but withdrew									1	1	0	0	7	0
1954	Group stage	9th	3	1	0	2	10	11		3	1	1	1	4	6
1958	Withdrew									–	–	–	–	–	–
1962	Did not qualify									4	2	0	2	4	4
1966										6	1	0	5	4	19
1970										4	0	0	4	2	13
1974										6	2	2	2	5	3
1978										6	2	1	3	9	5
1982										8	0	0	8	1	22
1986										8	0	1	7	2	24
1990										8	3	1	4	12	10
1994										10	3	1	6	11	19
1998										8	4	2	2	21	9
2002	Third Place	3rd	7	4	1	2	10	6		12	8	3	1	24	8
2006	Did not qualify									14	7	5	2	27	13
2010										10	4	3	3	13	10
2014										10	5	1	4	16	9
2018										10	4	3	3	14	13
2022	To be determined
2026
Total	Third Place	2/23	10	5	1	4	20	17		128	47	24	57	176	187

UEFA European Championship

UEFA European Championship record										UEFA European Championship qualifying record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1960	Did not qualify									2	1	0	1	2	3
1964										2	0	0	2	0	7
1968										6	1	2	3	3	8
1972										6	2	1	3	5	13
1976										6	2	2	2	5	10
1980										6	3	1	2	5	5
1984										8	3	1	4	8	16
1988										6	0	2	4	2	16
1992										6	0	0	6	1	14
1996	Group stage	16th	3	0	0	3	0	5		8	4	3	1	16	8
2000	Quarter-finals	6th	4	1	1	2	3	4		10	5	4	1	16	7
2004	Did not qualify									10	6	2	2	19	8
2008	Semi-finals	3rd	5	2	1*	2	8	9		12	7	3	2	25	11
2012	Did not qualify									12	5	3	4	13	14
2016	Group stage	17th	3	1	0	2	2	4		10	5	3	2	14	9
2020	To be determined									2	2	0	0	6	0
2024
Total	Third Place	4/17	15	4	2*	9	13	22		112	46	27	39	140	149

*Draws include knockout matches decided by penalty shoot-out.

List of UEFA European Football Championship matches
Year	Round	Score	Result	Date	Venue
1996	Group D	Turkey 0–1  Croatia	Loss	11 June 1996	Nottingham, England
		Turkey 0–1  Portugal	Loss	14 June 1996	Nottingham, England
		Turkey 0–3  Denmark	Loss	19 June 1996	Sheffield, England
2000	Group B	Turkey 1–2  Italy	Loss	11 June 2000	Arnhem, Netherlands
		Turkey 0–0  Sweden	Draw	15 June 2000	Eindhoven, Netherlands
		Turkey 2–0  Belgium	Win	19 June 2000	Brussels, Belgium
	Quarter-final	Turkey 0–2  Portugal	Loss	24 June 2000	Amsterdam, Netherlands
2008	Group A	Turkey 0–2  Portugal	Loss	7 June 2008	Geneva, Switzerland
		Turkey 2–1   Switzerland	Win	11 June 2008	Basel, Switzerland
		Turkey 3–2  Czech Republic	Win	15 June 2008	Geneva, Switzerland
	Quarter-final	Turkey 1–1 (pen. 3–1)  Croatia	Draw	20 June 2008	Wien, Austria
	Semi-final	Turkey 2–3  Germany	Loss	25 June 2008	Basel, Switzerland
2016	Group D	Turkey 0–1  Croatia	Loss	12 June 2016	Paris, France
		Turkey 0–3  Spain	Loss	17 June 2016	Nice, France
		Turkey 2–0  Czech Republic	Win	21 June 2016	Lens, France

Turkey at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Turkey at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam.

Summer Olympics

Olympic Games record
Year	Result	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1924	Round 1	13th	1	0	0	1	2	5
1928	Round 1	14th	1	0	0	1	1	7
1936	Round 1	15th	1	0	0	1	0	1
1948	Quarter-finals	6th	2	1	0	1	5	3
1952	Quarter-finals	8th	2	1	0	1	3	8
1956	Withdrew
1960	Round 1	14th	3	0	1	2	3	10
1964	Did not qualify
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984	Withdrew
1988	Did not qualify
1992
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
Total	Quarter-finals	6/23	10	2	1	7	14	34

FIFA Confederations Cup

FIFA Confederations Cup record
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA	Squad
1992	Did not qualify
1995
1997
1999
2001
2003	Third Place	3rd	5	2	1	2	8	8	Squad
2005	Did not qualify
2009
2013
2017
Total	Third Place	1/10	5	2	1	2	8	8	—

*Denotes draws including knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

UEFA Nations League

Mediterranean Games record

Turkey B

Football at the Mediterranean Games
Year	Rank	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
1951	-	0	0	0	0	0	0
1955	-	0	0	0	0	0	0
1959	2	2	1	1	0	7	4
1963	2	5	3	1	1	12	7
1967	4	5	2	1	2	5	7
1971	3	4	3	1	0	4	1
1975	7	4	0	2	2	1	5
1979	5	3	1	1	1	2	2
1983	2	4	2	0	2	4	5
1987	3	5	3	0	2	6	2
1991 – present	See Turkey national under-20 team
Total	8/10	32	15	7	10	41	33

Honours

Turkey national football team on an Azerbaijan stamp for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

• FIFA World Cup

Third place (1): 2002

• FIFA Confederations Cup

Third place (1): 2003

• UEFA European Football Championship

Semi-finals (1): 2008

Total results by opponent

The following table shows Turkey's all-time international record, correct as of 26 March 2019.

Against	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA
Albania	11	5	2	4	12	14
Algeria	3	1	0	2	4	2
Andorra	2	2	0	0	7	0
Angola	1	1	0	0	3	2
Armenia	2	2	0	0	4	0
Australia	2	2	0	0	4	1
Austria	16	7	1	8	22	18
Azerbaijan	7	5	1	1	9	2
Belarus	4	2	1	1	8	7
Belgium	11	3	5	3	17	18
Bosnia and Herzegovina	6	2	2	2	6	7
Brazil	6	0	2	4	3	10
Bulgaria	23	7	6	10	36	43
Cameroon	1	0	0	1	0	1
Canada	2	2	0	0	6	1
Chile	3	2	1	0	3	0
China PR	2	2	0	0	7	0
Colombia	1	1	0	0	2	1
Costa Rica	1	0	1	0	1	1
Croatia	9	1	5	3	6	10
Czech Republic[a]	20	5	3	12	18	44
Denmark	10	2	5	3	9	12
East Germany	5	3	1	1	10	5
Ecuador	1	0	0	1	0	1
Egypt	5	3	0	2	9	10
England	11	0	2	9	1	33
Estonia	8	5	3	0	17	4
Ethiopia	2	1	1	0	3	0
Faroe Islands	1	0	1	0	1	1
Finland	15	5	4	6	24	22
France	6	0	1	5	3	15
Georgia	5	3	1	1	12	5
Germany[b]	20	3	3	14	13	49
Ghana	2	0	2	0	3	3
Greece	10	7	2	1	18	6
Honduras	3	3	0	0	5	0
Hungary	14	4	2	8	17	31
Iceland	11	2	2	7	10	21
Iran	7	5	2	0	14	2
Iraq	1	0	1	0	0	0
Republic of Ireland	14	3	6	5	16	27
Israel	6	4	0	2	9	12
Italy	13	0	4	9	8	23
Ivory Coast	1	0	1	0	1	1
Japan	2	1	0	1	1	1
Kazakhstan	6	6	0	0	19	2
Kosovo	2	2	0	0	6	1
Latvia	6	1	4	1	10	9
Libya	1	0	0	1	1	2
Liechtenstein	2	2	0	0	8	0
Luxembourg	7	6	0	1	13	6
Macedonia	8	5	2	1	14	9
Malaysia	1	1	0	0	3	0
Malta	6	5	1	0	15	4
Moldova	10	8	2	0	25	3
Montenegro	2	1	1	0	3	2
Netherlands	12	3	4	5	9	13
New Zealand	1	1	0	0	2	1
Northern Ireland	12	5	2	5	12	12
Norway	9	4	2	3	11	15
Pakistan	4	3	1	0	16	9
Paraguay	1	0	1	0	0	0
Poland	17	3	3	11	12	39
Portugal	8	2	0	6	8	16
Qatar	1	1	0	0	2	1
Romania	26	5	7	14	24	49
Russia[c]	21	3	2	16	10	37
San Marino	4	3	1	0	16	1
Saudi Arabia	3	3	0	0	6	1
Scotland	1	1	0	0	4	2
Senegal	1	1	0	0	1	0
Serbia[d]	10	1	3	6	14	26
Slovakia	6	4	1	1	8	3
Slovenia	2	1	0	1	1	2
South Africa	1	0	0	1	0	2
South Korea	7	4	2	1	13	4
Spain	11	1	4	6	5	17
Sweden	12	5	4	3	15	14
Switzerland	15	8	3	4	21	20
Syria	1	1	0	0	7	0
Tunisia	5	1	4	0	6	3
Ukraine	9	4	3	2	11	9
United States	4	1	1	2	5	6
Uruguay	1	0	0	1	2	3
Wales	6	2	1	3	7	10
Total	568	214	133	221	747	819