Turkey national football team

The Turkey national football team () represents Turkey in association football and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Turkey. Their current head coach is Guus Hiddink. They are affiliated with UEFA. The team is, according to the FIFA World Rankings, ranked 30th in the world. Turkey has qualified three times for the World Cup finals, in 1950, 1954, and 2002, although they withdrew from the 1950 event. Turkey has also qualified three times for the UEFA European Championship, in 1996, 2000 and 2008. They have reached the semi-finals of three major tournaments: the 2002 World Cup, the 2003 Confederations Cup, and Euro 2008.

History

The Turkish national team played their first ever match against Romania in 1923 drawing 2–2. Although Turkey qualified for the 1950 World Cup, beating Syria 7–0, they had to withdraw due to financial problems. 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 Turkey...
Read More