Hakan Şükür fails to make Terim's cut

Turkey coach Fatih Terim has named an inital 26-man squad for UEFA EURO 2008™ but there was no place for veteran striker Hakan Şükür.

Surprise omission
The omission of Hakan Şükür from Terim's list was the most surprising news given that he played eight times in qualifying. The 36-year-old striker was a member of the Turkey squad that participated in EURO '96™, UEFA EURO 2000™ and the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Altıntop relief
Terim did, however, include FC Bayern München midfielder Hamit Altıntop despite the player currently being sidelined with a broken foot. The players who have received their call-ups have to arrive at the Antalya Gloria Golf Resort Hotel on 11 May.

Three friendlies
Following their five-day camp in Antalya, the Turkey squad will travel to Marienfeld, Germany, where they will make their pre-UEFA EURO 2008™ base and play friendly matches against Slovakia (20 May), Uruguay (25 May) and Finland (29 May).

Turkey squad
Goalkeepers: Volkan Demirel (Fenerbahçe SK), Rüştü Reçber (Beşiktaş JK), Tolga Zengin (Trabzonspor).

Defenders: Gökhan Gönül (Fenerbahçe SK), Sabri Sarıoğlu (Galatasaray AŞ), Gökhan Zan (Beşiktaş JK), İbrahim Kaş (Beşiktaş JK), Emre Aşık (Galatasaray AŞ), Servet Çetin (Galatasaray AŞ), Hakan Balta (Galatasaray AŞ), Uğur Boral (Fenerbahçe SK).

Midfielders: Mehmet Aurélio (Fenerbahçe SK), Mehmet Topal (Galatasaray AŞ), Emre Belözoğlu (Newcastle United FC), Tümer Metin (Larissa FC), Yıldıray Baştürk (VfB Stuttgart), Hamit Altıntop (FC Bayern München), Ayhan Akman (Galatasaray AŞ), Arda Turan (Galatasaray AŞ), Tuncay Şanlı (Middlesbrough FC), Kazım Kazım (Fenerbahçe SK), Gökdeniz Karadeniz (FC Rubin Kazan).

Forwards: Nihat Kahveci (Villarreal CF), Halil Altıntop (FC Schalke 04), Semih Şentürk (Fenerbahçe SK), Mevlüt Erding (FC Sochaux-Montbéliard).