625th appointed citizen
The national football team, which plays away against Italy in tomorrow’s friendly, will be playing in its 625th match in its history.
During its 101-year history, the Crescent Stars team has played a total of 624 games, including 341 official matches and 283 private matches, with 242 wins, 147 draws, 235 losses, and one by default.
The national team has scored a total of 852 goals, 268 away from home, 272 at home and 84 on neutral grounds (including three walkovers), while conceding 895.
To date, the team has played against national teams from 91 countries, with 540 of their 624 matches against European teams, 34 against Asian teams, 24 against African teams, 23 against the United States, and 3 against Oceanian teams.
Forfeited match and victory against Kosovo
The national team’s only victory out of 624 matches was a walkover victory against Greece.
A special match between Turkiye and Greece at Başakşehir Fatih Terim Stadium on 17 November 2015 ended in a 0-0 draw. Six months after the match, FIFA registered the match as 3-0 in Turkey’s favour, claiming that Greece had played an illegal player.
However, a special match on 21 May 2014, in which Turkey played away against Kosovo and won 6-1, was not taken into account as Kosovo was not a member of UEFA or FIFA on that day.
Vincenzo Montella’s seventh game
Turkiye will face Italy in the seventh match under Italian coach Vincenzo Montella, who will be coaching Turkey in a home match for the first time.
After winning the first three games under Montella, Turkiye left the field with a draw in the fourth game. The Crescent suffered two straight losses in the fifth and sixth games against the Italian coach. The national team scored 10 goals and conceded 10 in these games.
In their first game under Montella, the Crescent Star team played away to Croatia and left the field with a 1-0 victory. In their second game under the Italian coach, the national team beat Latvia 4-0 in Konya.
Turchie beat Germany 3-2 away in the third leg against Vincenzo Montella.
The Crescent Stars left the field in a 1-1 draw away to Wales, their fourth game under coach Montella. The national team suffered their first defeat under the Italian coach, losing 1-0 away to Hungary. Their heaviest defeat was a 6-1 defeat to Austria in their last friendly.
No wins in 2024
The national soccer team will play its third match of the 2024 season away against Italy.
The Crescent Stars team played their first match of the year away to Hungary on March 22. The home team won 1-0 thanks to a goal from the penalty spot by Dominik Szoboszlai.
In the second match, the team suffered a historic 6-1 defeat away to Austria.
Turkiye will be looking for his first win of 2024 against Italy.
Top 11
Italy: Vicario, Di Lorenzo, Mancini, Bastoni, Dimarco, Cristante, Jorginho, Orsolini, Pellegrini, Chiesa, Letegui.
Turkey: Altay, Zeki, Ozan, Abdulkerim, Mert Müldur, Khan, Hakan, Yusuf, Oz Aydın, Barş Alper, Kenan
