Turkey was one of the most exciting teams. When it came to the World Cup, they were labeled as a dark horse. There was a lot of hope on this side to make a big impact. With young talents like Arda Güler and Kenan Yıldız, expectations were high. But fortune was not with them, as the opening game against Australia was a massive fumble. The Turkish side was not even able to reach the next round, despite having teams like Australia and Paraguay in their group.
The questions were raised: What went wrong? Where did they fall short? And the biggest question was why talent didn’t pay off? Here are a few of the reasons responsible for their failure:
Poor Finishing – The Biggest Setback
Turkey had decent attacking options like Kenan Yıldız, Arda Güler, Can Uzun, and Deniz Gül. All Vincenzo Montella had to do was build a team around these attacking stars, but they failed to do the simple task. Turkey dominated possession and created plenty of chances, but they failed to convert them. They failed to score a goal in the first two games. The frustrating fact is that they made 62 attempts against Australia and Paraguay without scoring.
Can Uzun was benched in the first game, despite having 12 G/A in 21 games for Frankfurt. Kerem Aktürkoğlu started for Turkey and was replaced by Deniz Gül. This was a poor choice for Turkey. Both stars had lower G/A, but still got the spot. They had expected goals higher, which suggested they should have scored several times. But the lack of composition to finish remained a consistent issue.
The worst point of Turkey’s attack was that they even failed to score against a ten-man Paraguay side. Turkey made 33 shots with 78% possession. In the 45+3 minute, Paraguay lost Miguel Almirón following a red card. They had a whole half to score a goal, but they fell short. They had 95 minutes to score an equaliser, but still failed.
Defensive Mistakes
The attack was poor, but on top of that, the defensive line also collapsed. The defense was costly for Turkey. Against Paraguay, they conceded within the first two minutes. Against Australia, they conceded on a counterattack. The defensive line broke the confidence of the Turkish side, as Australia put them under pressure and scored twice.
This was a close encounter as Australia were ranked 27th while Turkey were ranked 22nd in the world rankings. But the difference against Paraguay was massive, as they were ranked 41st in the world.
Expectations Were Too High
Following a decent run in Euro 2024, expectations were very high. Many fans believed this was the “Golden Generation.” They believed this side would reach the round of 32. Instead, inflated expectations increased the pressure on the Turkish side. It was a quite young squad, which made the eventual group-stage exit feel even more heartbreaking.
The Turkish side had young gems who could not handle the pressure of these expectations. Kenan Yıldız was one of the brightest examples, but he failed to score a single goal. Arda Güler was also one of the examples where he scored just one goal. It was a very low number of goals compared to the expectations from these stars.
Turkey ended the event with a win over the USA, but it was not a really good game for them. The last-minute goal was just a forgettable end for Turkey. Things are messy right now for them. The good thing is that they have time before the Nations League group stage starts. They have a tough group with France, Italy, and Belgium. If they need to reach the next round, redevelopment in terms of confidence is required.