Turkey head coach Vincenzo Montella named a preliminary 35-man squad for this summer’s European Championship, with the group needing to be cut to 26 before the start of the competition.
The national side drew 0-0 with Italy in their opening warm-up fixture for Euro 2024 on Tuesday, and they will now tackle Poland on June 10 before opening their tournament against Georgia on June 18.
Turkey will also take on Portugal and the Czech Republic in Group F this summer, and the Crescent-Stars will be bidding to advance through the group stage for the first time since 2008.
There had been three Premier League players in the selection, with Manchester United’s number two goalkeeper Altay Bayindir included alongside Bournemouth’s Enes Unal and Leicester City’s Yunus Akgun.
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Turkey handed Unal injury blow ahead of Euro 2024
However, Unal suffered a fractured toe during training, and the striker has now been ruled out of the tournament in a huge blow for the national side; Caglar Soyuncu has also been withdrawn from the initial selection due to a thigh injury which he picked up while representing Fenerbahce.
Cenk Tosun, 32, is the leading goalscorer in the squad, netting 20 times for his national side, and he is expected to be an important player for Turkey at the competition due to Unal’s absence.
Hakan Calhanoglu is the second-highest goalscorer in the squad with 18, and the 30-year-old is set to captain his side at the tournament in Germany.
Roma’s Zeki Celik, Galatasaray’s Kaan Ayhan and Lille’s Yusuf Yazici are also notable inclusions.
Meanwhile, Arda Guler, who featured regularly for Real Madrid in the latter stages of the 2023-24 campaign, is also in the squad, with the 19-year-old bidding to add to his six caps.
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There are three uncapped players in the squad
Ajax’s Ahmetcan Kaplan, Alanyaspor’s Oguz Aydin and Besiktas’ Semih Kilicsoy were the three uncapped players in the squad.
However, both Aydin and Kilicsoy made their debuts in the goalless draw with Italy last time out.
Seven players will be cut from the squad when Montella confirms his selection, with Unal’s absence opening up another spot in the final third of the field.
Kerem Akturkoglu has scored five times in 28 appearances for his national side and is also expected to have an important role to play this summer.
Halil Dervisoglu has scored six times in 16 caps, but there was no room in the squad for the 24-year-old, while Schalke 04’s Kenan Karaman was also overlooked by Montella.
Who is Turkey’s head coach?
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Montella has been in charge of Turkey since September 2023, boasting a record of three wins, two draws and two defeats from his seven matches at the helm.
The 49-year-old had previously been manager of Adana Demirspor, while he has also notably been in charge of AC Milan, Sevilla and Fiorentina.
Turkey is Montella’s first taste of managing an international team, and there have been positive signs during his time at the helm.
The Crescent-Stars have been eliminated in the group stage of the last two European Championships, but they did reach the semi-finals of the competition back in 2008.
Portugal will be the favourites to top Group F, but Turkey will fancy their chances of finishing in second, or picking up enough points to advance to the knockout round as one of the best third-placed teams.
Turkey’s preliminary Euro 2024 squad:
Goalkeepers: Altay Bayindir (Manchester United), Dogan Alemdar (Troyes), Mert Gunok (Besiktas), Ugurcan Cakır (Trabzonspor)
Defenders: Mert Muldur (Fenerbahce), Ferdi Kadioglu (Fenerbahce), Zeki Celik (Roma), Abdulkerim Bardakci (Galatasaray), Ahmetcan Kaplan (Ajax), Merih Demiral (Al-Ahli), Ozan Kabak (Hoffenheim), Samet Akaydın (Panathinaikos), Cenk Ozkacar (Valencia)
Midfielders: Berat Ozdemir (Trabzonspor), Can Uzun (Nurnberg), Hakan Calhanoglu (Inter Milan), İsmail Yuksek (Fenerbahce), Kaan Ayhan (Galatasaray), Okay Yokuslu (West Bromwich Albion), Orkun Kokcu (Benfica), Salih Ozcan (Borussia Dortmund)
Forwards: Abdulkadir Omur (Hull City), Irfan Can Kahveci (Fenerbahce), Yunus Akgun (Leicester City), Kenan Yildiz (Juventus), Kerem Akturkoglu (Galatasaray), Barıs Alper Yilmaz (Galatasaray), Oguz Aydin (Alanyaspor), Arda Guler (Real Madrid), Bertug Yildirim (Rennes), Cenk Tosun (Besiktas), Semih Kilicsoy (Besiktas), Yusuf Yazici (Lille)
