Turkey’s World Cup Squad Gives the USMNT a Group D Problem

The Turkey World Cup squad is 26 players deep, led by Arda Güler, Kenan Yıldız and Hakan Çalhanoğlu, and it gives the U.S. men’s national team (USMNT) a live problem before their Group D finale because Vincenzo Montella has enough creators to refresh the front line and keep the danger high. Montella kept three goalkeepers, nine defenders, five midfielders and nine listed forwards in the Turkish Football Federation’s final World Cup squad announcement.

Turkey reached the tournament through one-goal playoff wins over Romania and Kosovo, then beat North Macedonia 4-0 in Istanbul on June 1. The U.S. also has a recent reference point: Turkey beat Mauricio Pochettino’s side 2-1 in East Hartford on June 7, 2025 after conceding in the opening minute.

Montella’s Cut Leaves a Front-Loaded 26

Montella’s final choice arrived on Tuesday, June 2, with the squad already leaving Istanbul for Florida. The Turkish Football Federation (TFF, Turkey’s governing body) said Muhammed Şengezer, Aral Şimşir and Demir Ege Tıknaz would still travel as standby cover because tournament rules allow injury replacements before a team’s first match, with goalkeepers eligible for replacement during the tournament.

Nine players from the wider camp missed the final tournament list, but the last cut did not strip out attacking options. Güler is classified by TFF among the forwards, even though he often works from the right side or the No. 10 pocket. That matters for a U.S. staff trying to decide whether Turkey will play with a striker, a false nine, or a rotating front line.

Four Attacking Routes on the Squad Sheet

Çalhanoğlu, the Inter Milan midfielder, is the senior control point in this group at 32. Around him, Turkey can change the angle of an attack and still keep the ball quality high. Orkun Kökçü gives another passer, İsmail Yüksek and Kaan Ayhan give Montella a more physical base, and Salih Özcan offers a holding option trained in the Bundesliga.

Deniz Gül is the purest penalty-box No. 9. Can Uzun’s June 1 goal and assist against North Macedonia gave Montella a younger option between midfield and striker. Kenan and Kerem can run beyond a fullback, while Güler can slow a possession down and play the last pass. The U.S. has to prepare for several front-four combinations.

The Group D Calendar Starts Before Turkey Kicks Off

Group D opens with the U.S. against Paraguay in Los Angeles on June 12, the same match covered in our earlier look at the SoFi Stadium strike vote before the U.S. opener. FIFA’s full World Cup match schedule sends Turkey across Vancouver, the Bay Area and Los Angeles.

1. June 13, BC Place Vancouver: Australia v Turkey opens Montella’s tournament, with the kickoff landing on June 14 in Turkey.
2. June 19, San Francisco Bay Area Stadium: Turkey v Paraguay gives Montella five recovery days and a second opponent that can defend low.
3. June 25, Los Angeles Stadium: Turkey v United States closes the group at the same time as Paraguay v Australia.

The travel path is clean by tournament standards: western Canada, northern California, southern California. The schedule also lets Turkey watch the U.S. once before playing, because the hosts start a day earlier. By the time the teams meet, Montella will have seen how Pochettino handles Paraguay’s midfield block and Australia’s set pieces in tournament conditions.

East Hartford Gave the U.S. a Preview

The last meeting has aged badly for the USMNT back line. In U.S. Soccer’s match report from East Hartford, Jack McGlynn scored in the first minute, then Güler and Aktürkoğlu scored for Turkey in a span of 2 minutes, 20 seconds on June 7, 2025. The final score was 2-1, and the venue was Pratt & Whitney Stadium in Connecticut, a long way from Los Angeles but close enough in personnel to stay on the staff’s video playlist.

Turkey’s lineup that day included Güler, Yıldız, Kökçü, Yüksek, Zeki Çelik, Söyüncü and Demiral. The U.S. side used McGlynn, Diego Luna, Malik Tillman, Tyler Adams, Chris Richards and Matt Freese, several of whom are still in Pochettino’s pool. The match turned on two American mistakes under pressure, the type of sequence Turkey’s wide attackers can punish without needing long spells of possession.

The game also showed the range of Turkish tempo. They conceded early, pressed the next phase, then lived with a lead after halftime. For a U.S. team that wants rhythm at home, the danger starts with the ball that looks harmless in midfield.

The 2002 Shadow Is Back in View

Turkey’s World Cup memory is unusually sharp because there are so few chapters. The country finished third in 2002, then spent the next five tournaments outside the finals. The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA, Europe’s governing body) wrote after the 1-0 playoff final in Kosovo that Turkey had taken the final spot in Group D, joining the U.S., Paraguay and Australia. The win sealed Turkey’s first World Cup since 2002.

Montella’s group already has one tournament run behind it. At Euro 2024, Turkey reached the quarter-finals before the Netherlands won 2-1 in Berlin; UEFA’s Netherlands v Turkey report recorded Stefan de Vrij’s equalizer and Mert Müldür’s own goal in the second-half turn. Several players now in the World Cup squad handled knockout minutes in that game.

That is the background for Montella’s current selection. He has kept the center-backs from the old defensive core, the captain who controls dead balls, and a new attacking class that was still being eased into senior football two years ago. The U.S. will be looking at a team with recent knockout minutes and a crowd that expects a place in the knockouts.

Where the U.S. Can Press the Issue

Turkey’s upside comes with some straightforward pressure points. Demiral and Söyüncü can defend their box, but the first pass into midfield is where opponents will try to keep Çalhanoğlu from turning. Kadıoğlu and Müldür are comfortable stepping high, which opens space behind them when the ball is lost.

• Press the first pass into Çalhanoğlu or Kökçü before either midfielder can face forward.
• Make Kadıoğlu and Müldür defend long recovery runs after they join attacks.
• Avoid cheap fouls within shooting range, because Çalhanoğlu and Güler both change games from dead balls.
• Force Gül, Uzun or Barış Alper into back-to-goal duels before Kenan and Kerem can attack space.

Pochettino’s choice will start with how brave he wants the U.S. press to be. A deep block invites Turkey’s passers to feed the wings; a loose high press gives Yıldız a running race from one pass. The best U.S. spell in East Hartford came before Turkey settled on the ball, and the worst came when the American midfield gave pressure without cover behind it.

Vancouver Gives the First Answer

The June 1 friendly added a last piece of evidence before the squad left Istanbul. TFF’s North Macedonia match report listed four different Turkish scorers: Kökçü in the second minute, Uzun in the 16th, Gül in the 53rd and Barış Alper Yılmaz in the 70th. Güler and Yıldız did not need to carry the scoring load that night.

Australia gets the first crack at the new front line in Vancouver. By Los Angeles on June 25, the U.S. will meet the version shaped by two games, two trips and whatever Montella has learned about his center-forward spot.