Turkiya name preliminary squad for FIFA World Cup 2026 included Stars Arda Guler & Kenan Yıldız, Full players list

Türkiye is heading back to the World Cup for the first time in 24 years, and the celebrations across the country showed just how much the moment meant. Fans filled the streets waving flags and honking car horns after the national team secured qualification with a dramatic playoff victory. (

Head coach Vincenzo Montella has named a 35-man preliminary squad that must be reduced to 26 players before the June 2 deadline. The Italian manager has built a talented squad packed with exciting attacking options, including rising stars Arda Güler and Kenan Yıldız, alongside experienced names like Kerem Aktürkoğlu and Barış Alper Yılmaz, who both impressed during the domestic season.

The squad will begin preparations on May 22 at the Turkish Football Federation headquarters near Istanbul before playing warm-up matches against North Macedonia and Venezuela ahead of the tournament.

Türkiye have been drawn in Group D, where they will face Australia, Paraguay and co-hosts the United States. After such a long wait to return to football’s biggest stage, expectations and excitement around this young Turkish side are growing quickly.

Preliminary list of 35 players for the Türkiye's Squad for 2026 FIFA World Cup.

FIFA World Cup 2026 – Türkiye's provisional squad

Goalkeepers: Altay Bayındır (Manchester United), Ersin Destanoğlu (Beşiktaş A.Ş.), Mert Günok (Fenerbahçe A.Ş.), Muhammed Şengezer (Rams Başakşehir FK), Uğurcan Çakır (Galatasaray A.Ş.)

Defenders: Abdülkerim Bardakcı (Galatasaray A.Ş.), Ahmetcan Kaplan (NEC Nijmegen), Çağlar Söyüncü (Fenerbahçe A.Ş.), Eren Elmalı (Galatasaray A.Ş.), Ferdi Kadıoğlu (Brighton & Hove Albion), Merih Demiral (Al-Ahli), Mert Müldür (Fenerbahçe A.Ş.), Mustafa Eskihellaç (Trabzonspor A.Ş.), Ozan Kabak (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim), Samet Akaydın (Çaykur Rizespor A.Ş.), Yusuf Akçiçek (Al-Hilal), Zeki Çelik (AS Roma)

Midfielders: Atakan Karazor (VfB Stuttgart), Demir Ege Tıknaz (SC Braga), Hakan Çalhanoğlu (Internazionale), İsmail Yüksek (Fenerbahçe A.Ş.), Kaan Ayhan (Galatasaray A.Ş.), Orkun Kökçü (Beşiktaş A.Ş.), Salih Özcan (Borussia Dortmund)

Forwards: Aral Şimşir (FC Midtjylland), Arda Güler (Real Madrid), Barış Alper Yılmaz (Galatasaray A.Ş.), Can Uzun (Eintracht Frankfurt), Deniz Gül (FC Porto), İrfan Can Kahveci (Kasımpaşa A.Ş.), Kenan Yıldız (Juventus), Kerem Aktürkoğlu (Fenerbahçe A.Ş.), Oğuz Aydın (Fenerbahçe A.Ş.), Yunus Akgün (Galatasaray A.Ş.), Yusuf Sarı (Rams Başakşehir FK)