Türkiye

🌍 World Cup Story

Turkey's greatest moment came in 2002 in Japan/South Korea — a tournament that featured multiple shocks. Turkey defeated Senegal in the quarterfinals, then Japan (hosts) in the semifinals' third-place match, finishing third overall. It remains Turkey's best World Cup result and is enshrined in national legend. Striker Hakan Şükür scored the fastest goal in World Cup history — 11 seconds against South Korea in the third-place match. After 2002, Turkey's World Cup journey stalled — they missed 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022. Now a new generation has emerged: Arda Güler (Real Madrid), Hakan Çalhanoğlu (Inter Milan), and Kenan Yıldız (Juventus) form one of Europe's most exciting midfield trios. Euro 2024 showed the world what they can do.