2018 WORLD CUP
Arda Turan, Yilmaz and Erkin left out of Turkey squad
Fatih Terim took the surprise decision to omit several established players out of the Turkey squad for next month’s 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
Turkey without Arda
Fatih Terim took the surprise decision to omit several established players out of the Turkey squad for next month’s 2018 World Cup qualifiers at home to Ukraine on 6 October and Iceland in Reykjavik three days later.
The big omission is that of national hero Arda Turan, who has been in sparkling form for Barcelona since the new season kicked off in Spain. The midfielder, a mainstay with the national is close to gaining his 100th cap at full international level; there was also no room for Burak Yilmaz, Caner Erkin and Selcuk Inan.
Terim felt the time was right to begin introducing younger players, in the wake of Turkey’s miserable Euro 2016 campaign. In comes promising Borussia Dortmund winger Emre Mor, FC Twente striker Enes Ünal - both just19 years of age, and 20-year-old SC Freiburg defender Çağlar Söyüncü who gained his first full cap in March this year.
Turkey kicked their 2018 World Cup campaign off with 1-1 draw against Group I rivals Croatia.
The full Turkey squad:
Goalkeepers: Volkan Babacan (Medipol Basaksehir), Onur Recep Kivrak (Trabzonspor), Harun Tekin (Bursaspor).
Defenders: Sener Ozbayrakli (Fenerbahce), Kaan Ayhan (Fortuna Duesseldorf), Ahmet Yilmaz Calik (Genclerbirligi), Caglar Soyuncu (SC Freiburg), Hakan Kadir Balta (Galatasaray), Omer Toprak (Bayer 04 Leverkusen), Hasan Ali Kaldirim (Fenerbahçe), Ismail Koybasi (Fenerbahçe),
Midfielders: Emre Mor (Borussia Dortmund), Volkan Sen (Fenerbahçe), Hakan Calhanoglu (Bayer 04 Leverkusen), Mehmet Topal (Fenerbahçe), Ozan Tufan (Fenerbahçe), Okay Yokuslu (Trabzonspor), Tolga Cigerci (Galatasaray),
Forwards: Yasin Oztekin (Galatasaray), Olcay Sahan (Besiktas), Mevlut Erdinc (Metz), Yunus Malli (FSV Mainz 05), Enes Unal (Twente), Cenk Tosun (Besiktas).