Turkey return to the FIFA World Cup for the first time since finishing third in 2002. The team led by Italian manager Vincenzo Montella qualified for the European play-offs after finishing second in Group E behind Spain, after which they beat Romania (1-0) and Kosovo (1-0) to punch a World Cup ticket.
Arda Guler and Kenan Yildiz, both 21, lead an attack that also features Turkish champions Baris Alper Yillmaz and Yunus Akgun, while former Benfica winger Kerem Akturkoglu, who scored the winning goal against Kosovo in the World Cup play-offs, is a candidate to be the team's main striker. He's expected to fight for the starting spot with Porto striker Deniz Gul.
Eintracht Frankfurt's Can Uzun joins the squad on the back of an excellent campaign, in which he scored 10 goals and assisted a further five in 27 games across all competitions. Uzun, who can also play as a striker, joins a midfield with captain Hakan Calhanoglu, Fenerbahce cornerstone Ismael Yuksek, Besiktas captain Orkun Kokcu, Salih Ozcan, who's leaving Dortmund in the summer, and Kaan Ayhan.
The defence is led by Brighton's Ferdi Kadioglu and Galatasaray captain Abdulkerim Bardakci, while Al-Ahli's Merih Demiral is expected to take place next to Bardakci in the heart of the defence. Galatasaray goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir will start between the sticks after a more than solid campaign for the Turkish champions.
Notable omissions from Montella's squad include Al-Ahli's Yusuf Akcicek, FC Midtjylland's Aral Simsir, who was involved in 23 goals last season, Stuttgart's Atakan Karazor, and Ajax's Ahmetcan Kaplan.
Muhammed Sengezer (Istanbul Basaksehir), Mustafa Eskihellac (Trabzonspor), Demir Ege Tiknaz (Braga), and Yusuf Sari (Istanbul Basaksehir) were the last four players who did not make the cut.
Still no Ozer
Lille star goalkeeper Berke Ozer also misses out after leaving the squad last November after learning that he wouldn't be included in the matchday squad for the match against Bulgaria.
The TFF put out a statement following Ozer's sudden departure, saying that "it is not possible to accept this kind of behaviour at a time when the team is working devotedly to qualify for the World Cup, which we have been longing for for many years, and when the unity and solidarity within the team are at their peak."
Turkey open their first World Cup campaign since 2002 with a game against Australia on Saturday, June 13th, at 21.00 PST local time (Sunday, June 14th, 06.00 CET).
Turkey's full World Cup squad
Goalkeepers: Ugurcan Cakir (Galatasaray), Altay Bayindir (Manchester United), Mert Gunok (Besiktas)
Defenders: Ferdi Kadioglu (Brighton), Merih Demiral (Al Ahli), Zeki Celik (Roma), Ozan Kabak (Hoffenheim), Mert Muldur (Fenerbahce), Abdulkerim Bardakci (Galatasaray), Eren Elmali (Galatasaray), Caglar Soyuncu (Fenerbahce), Samet Akaydin (Rizespor)
Midfielders: Arda Guler (Real Madrid), Can Uzun (Eintracht Frankfurt), Orkun Kokcu (Besiktas), Hakan Calhanoglu (Inter), Ismail Yuksek (Fenerbahce), Kaan Ayhan (Galatasaray), Salih Ozcan (Borussia Dortmund)
Forwards: Kenan Yildiz (Juventus), Baris Alper Yilmaz (Galatasaray), Kerem Akturkoglu (Fenerbahce), Yunus Akgun (Galatasaray), Oguz Aydin (Fenerbahce), Deniz Gul (Porto), Irfan Can Kahveci (Fenerbahce)
Turkey's World Cup schedule
*All times are CET
Sunday, June 14, 06.00: Australia - Turkey (BC Place, Vancouver, CA)
Saturday, June 20, 05.00: Turkey - Paraguay (Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara (San Francisco), USA)
Friday, June 26, 04.00: Turkey - USA (SoFi Stadium, Inglewood (Los Angeles), USA)
