The appointment

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) announced on Tuesday, 20 October, that Sergen Yalçın will coach the national team on a four-year contract running to 2030, the next World Cup. He succeeds Vincenzo Montella, who was dismissed on 9 October. Yalçın is 53 and a former midfielder who won 37 caps for Turkey and scored five goals, and he was in the squads for Euro 1996 and Euro 2000. This is his first job as a national team coach, since he has worked exclusively in club football in Turkey. N-tv reports that his coaching staff is signed on the same four-year terms.

Four defeats before the change

Turkey lost its first four Nations League matches, 0-1 to France, 3-0 to Belgium, and 1-4 and 3-1 to Italy in two meetings. N-tv puts the goal record at 2:11 after those games, and Polsat Sport reports that Turkey sits last in its group. Montella had been in charge since September 2023, a tenure that included a quarter-final at Euro 2024 in Germany and qualification for the 2026 World Cup, according to Polsat Sport. Turkey went out in the group stage of that World Cup, and N-tv says this left Montella under considerable pressure before the federation acted.

Turan talks and Yalçın's record

Arda Turan was the first name considered, and N-tv reports that he reportedly declined the federation's approach. A Greek report adds that Turan, then coach of Shakhtar Donetsk, travelled to Turkey briefly early in the month, but talks with federation president İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu produced no agreement because the president did not accept Turan's terms. Yalçın's club coaching career spans Gaziantep (twice), Sivas, Kayseri, Eskişehir, Konya, Alanya, Yeni Malatya, Antalya and Beşiktaş. As a player he also appeared for Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray. His 2020-21 season at Beşiktaş ended with the Süper Lig and Turkish Cup double, and N-tv says he is the only player in the club's history to win the Turkish title as both player and coach. Polsat Sport reports that his second spell at Beşiktaş ended in May 2026.

First matches ahead

Yalçın's first match is set for 12 November against Belgium in the Nations League, and Ziare places it in Izmir. Three days later Turkey plays away to France, which Ziare puts in Bordeaux. N-tv says a win over Belgium could keep Turkey's playoff chances alive despite the poor start. Polsat Sport reports that the federation hopes the decision will prove successful for the country and the national team. The national team's 2026 World Cup exit came in June, after Turkey was drawn in a group with the United States, Paraguay and Australia, according to 7sur7.