Turkey

Turkey, nicknamed Ay-Yıldızlılar (The Crescent-Stars), are a UEFA member nation whose greatest achievement came at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where they finished third. Under coach Vincenzo Montella, they qualified for the 2026 World Cup and are co-hosts of UEFA Euro 2032.

Turkey played their first international on 26 October 1923, drawing 2–2 with Romania at Taksim Stadium in Istanbul — fittingly, the same year the Republic of Turkey was founded. They joined FIFA and UEFA and gradually developed as a competitive European side through the latter decades of the twentieth century.

Their defining moment came at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan, where they finished third — still their best result at a major tournament. Hakan Şükür, Turkey's record scorer with 51 goals, netted the fastest goal in World Cup history (10.8 seconds) in the third-place play-off. At Euro 2008, Turkey produced a series of dramatic comebacks before losing to Germany in the semi-finals.

After two decades outside World Cup competition, Turkey qualified for the 2026 edition and were promoted to UEFA Nations League A for the first time in March 2025. They are also co-hosts — with Italy — of UEFA Euro 2032, granting them automatic qualification for that tournament.