Türkiye at the World Cup 2026: Squad, fixtures, group and history

Türkiye ended a 24-year absence from the finals by qualifying for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Vincenzo Montella's side, led by captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu, face Australia, Paraguay and USA in Group D. Below you will find everything you need to know about Türkiye at the 2026 World Cup: their fixtures, squad, qualifying record, key players, coach and tournament history.

Türkiye at the World Cup 2026: At a glance

Coach: Vincenzo Montella
Captain: Hakan Çalhanoğlu
World Cup appearances: 3
Best finish: Third place (2002)

Türkiye's World Cup matches

Group D

14 June: Australia vs Türkiye (Vancouver, 06:00 CET)
20 June: Türkiye vs Paraguay (San Francisco Bay Area, 05:00 CET)
26 June: Türkiye vs USA (Los Angeles, 04:00 CET)

Türkiye’s group fixtures are being played across three host cities, with the knockout rounds to follow for teams that progress from Group D.

Türkiye's World Cup squad

Revelation of the Season in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League, Real Madrid star Arda Güler may be the most anticipated name among the Türkiye squad, but there are plenty of other players that are guaranteed to catch the eye, including Juventus attacking midfielder Kenan Yıldız and Fenerbahçe dangerman Kerem Aktürkoğlu.

How Türkiye qualified for the World Cup

Second place in Group E: W4 D1 L1 F17 A12

Georgia 2-3 Türkiye
Türkiye 0-6 Spain
Bulgaria 1-6 Türkiye
Türkiye 4-1 Georgia
Türkiye 2-0 Bulgaria
Spain 2-2 Türkiye

Play-off semi-final
Türkiye 1-0 Romania

Play-off final
Kosovo 0-1 Türkiye

Top scorers: Kerem Aktürkoğlu, Kenan Yıldız (3)

Türkiye coach: Vincenzo Montella

Montella made his name as a prolific striker in Italy, and he helped his country reach the final of EURO 2000, where the Azzurri were defeated by France. After spells as a coach at, among others, Fiorentina, Milan and Sevilla, Montella was appointed Türkiye coach in 2023 and guided his exciting team to the quarter-finals of EURO 2024, having beaten Georgia, Czechia and Austria before falling to Netherlands.

Türkiye captain: Hakan Çalhanoğlu

One of the squad's most experienced players, Çalhanoğlu has helped Inter win Serie A in two of the last three seasons and reach the 2023 and 2025 Champions League finals. He will play a key role for Türkiye with his set-piece expertise, strong link-up play and fighting spirit.

Türkiye's World Cup history 

Most appearances: Fatih Akyel, Yıldıray Baştürk, Ümit Davala, Tugay Kerimoğlu, İlhan Mansız, Rüştü Reçber, Hakan Şükür (7)
Top scorer: Suat Mamat, İlhan Mansız, Burhan Sargun (3)
Best performance: Third place (2002)
World Cup 2022: Did not qualify

Although Türkiye have only participated in two World Cup finals, their most recent in 2002 was an unforgettable campaign as they made it all the way to the semis, beating China, co-hosts Japan and Senegal along the way before only narrowly losing 1-0 to eventual winners Brazil in the final four. They defeated the other co-hosts South Korea 3-2 in an entertaining third place play-off, a game which saw striker Hakan Şükür score the fastest-ever World Cup goal in just 11 seconds.

Türkiye's UEFA Nations League fixtures: Group A1

25 September: Türkiye vs France (20:45)
28 September: Türkiye vs Italy (20:45)
2 October: Belgium vs Türkiye (20:45)
5 October: Italy vs Türkiye (20:45)
12 November: Türkiye vs Belgium (18:00)
15 November: France vs Türkiye (20:45)

All times CET.