Idman.biz
"Turkish football needs fundamental changes to succeed in a prestigious tournament like the World Cup. A correct strategy must be determined in this direction."
These words were said by the well-known Turkish expert Yılmaz Vural while talking about his country's qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
He stated that the Turkish national team will face teams representing different continents such as Australia, Paraguay, and the USA in the tournament.
"Each of these opponents has its own unique characteristics. Although American football has developed in recent years, it is not the main sport in the country. However, the host factor is one of their advantages. Paraguay, as a South American representative, is used to playing with strong opponents, and football in Australia is in a new stage of development. In this regard, I highly appreciate the chances of the Turkish national team," he said in a statement to AZERTAC.
The expert emphasized that the main problem of the team is related to collective play: "We have players with high individual qualities. We can mention Arda Güler, Hakan Çalhanoğlu and others. They play in leading European clubs and have great experience. However, we are experiencing certain difficulties in terms of team play. In recent games, victories have been won more due to individual skills."
He noted that serious work should be done in this direction in the coming period: "If we can improve our game as a team, it is possible to achieve greater success. We must increase ball control and play more systematically. Otherwise, it will be difficult to achieve success in high-level tournaments."
Y.Vural added that the performance of the Turkish national team in the World Cup will further increase the interest in the tournament: "Many Turks living in different countries of the world will give great support to the team, and this will add extra color to the competition. I will even go to the USA to support our team."
The expert also touched upon the problems related to the management of football. According to him, although some countries have achieved success by implementing reforms in this field, the problems in Turkey and Italy, which have been out of the World Cup for the third time in a row, have not been fully resolved: "Football plays a unifying role for society. It is important to form proper management and a unified approach in this area. Unfortunately, we have not yet achieved the desired results in these matters."
It should be noted that the World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico, will be held from June 11 to July 19. For the first time, the mundial will feature teams from 48 countries.
The schedule of matches to be held by the Turkish national team in the group stage, which qualified for the mundial again after 24 years, has also been announced. The "crescent-stars", located in Group D, will face Australia on June 14, Paraguay on June 20, and the USA, one of the hosts, on June 26. The first two matches will start at 08:00 Baku time, and the last group match will start at 06:00.
