Rather surprisingly, Turkey have played at just two World Cups prior to the 2026 World Cup.
They did qualify in 1950 but withdrew before the tournament kicked off in Brazil instead making their debut four years later in Switzerland, going out in the group stages.
It would not be until 2002 that they returned to the world stage, but it was more than worth the wait as they claimed the bronze medal. After a controversial group with Brazil, Costa Rica and China was navigated, Senol Gunes’ side saw off co-hosts Japan and fellow surprise outfit Senegal to qualify for the semi-finals.
There would more heartache against the Brazilians here with Ronaldo ending the dream but there was happy ending with a third-place playoff win over the other co-hosts, South Korea.
It’s the greatest achievement in Turkish football history but what has happened to the members of the squad since? We’ve looked at the career of all 23 players.
Rustu Recber
- Age: 52
- Position: Goalkeeper
A certified legend of Turkish football having won a record 120 caps for the national team and multiple league titles with both Fernbahce and Besiktas, Rustu was one of the players of the tournament.
It was due to both his brilliant shot stopping and iconic war paint underneath his eyes that saw him become a World Cup cult hero. So much so that he was voted into the 2002 UEFA Team of the Year over Oliver Kahn.
A big move to Barcelona came the following year but just four games later, he was back in his homeland where he spent the rest of his career. He helped Turkey to the last four of EURO 2008 before his final cap in 2012, 18 years on from his debut.
Emre Asik
- Age: 51
- Position: Defender
Another player to be part of both of Turkey’s most successful tournament teams, Asik won 36 caps over 17 years and had a more than earned reputation as a tough and controversial defender.
108 yellow cards and 13 red cards came in a Super Lig. career that saw him play for the big three of Galatasaray, Fenerbahce and Besikitas. In fact, he had three separate stints at Gala before hanging up his boots at the end of the 2009/10 season.
Bulent Korkmaz
- Age: 57
- Position: Defender
Unlike Asik, Korkmaz stayed faithful to one club for his entire career. The legendary defender made 592 appearances in 18 glorious years with Galatasaray, winning 21 trophies including the 2000 UEFA Cup against Arsenal on penalties.
In that Copenhagen final, the Gala captain dislocated his shoulder but refused to come off and ended up lifting the trophy. It ruled him out of EURO 2000 but he was back two years later and finished up in 2005 with 102 international caps.
His managerial career has been a complete contrast to his playing days, managing a whole host of Turkish clubs with a very short stint at Gala in 2009.
Fatih Akyel
- Age: 47
- Position: Defender
In the same Galatasaray back four as Korkmaz for five years across two stints and part of the team that won the UEFA Cup, Akyel also played for Istanbul’s other biggest club, Fenerbahce.
His international career lasted for seven years and 64 caps between 1997 and 2004 but he retired in ignominy after an arrest for alleged match-fixing.
Alpay Ozalan
- Age: 52
- Position: Defender
Known synonymously as Alpay, the big defender had an interesting career to say the least and will be best remembered by many for his time at Aston Villa and an incident with David Beckham.
That’s not to discount his 90 caps and place in the team of the tournament in 2002 although he was sent off against Brazil in the group stages, but a fall-out with club manager Graham Taylor in the months after was the beginning of the end of his time in England.
A finger in the face of the Three Lions skipper after a penalty miss sparked a tunnel fracas and the termination of his Villa contract.
Alpay wasn’t finished there with his international career ending with a six-game ban after his involvement in a brawl following Turkey’s defeat to Switzerland in the 2006 World Cup playoffs. His move into politics has unsurprisingly been just as chaotic.
Arif Erdem
- Age: 53
- Position: Forward
Outside of a failed two-game stint with Real Sociedad, Erdem spent his entire career with Galatasaray, winning seven league titles and the UEFA Cup among other trophies.
The 2001-02 season saw him win the Turkish golden boot and head into the World Cup in fine form but he had a bit-part role at the tournament.
Of Albanian descent, Erdem fled to Greece in 2016 after the failed Turkish coup with the ex-forward having reported links to the Gulen movement.
Okan Buruk
- Age: 52
- Position: Midfielder
A legendary figure both on the pitch and in the dugout, Buruk has won a record 11 Super Lig. titles – seven as a player and four as a manager.
The midfielder played much of his career with Galatasaray but also spent time at Besiktas, Istanbul Basaksehir and Inter. It was with Basaksehir where he made history, becoming just the second manager to win the title for a non-big four club.
He has since dominated the domestic game with Gala, winning each of the last three titles and making them more competitive in Europe than any time since that UEFA Cup win.
Tugay Kerimoglu
- Age: 55
- Position: Midfielder
One of the most “Barclays” players of all time, Tugay became a household name over a brilliant eight-year stint with Blackburn Rovers in the 2000s but he had dominated Turkish football long before that.
The midfielder spent a short time at Rangers before Graeme Souness – who managed him at Galatasaray – brought him to Ewood Park after promotion in 2001. He instantly became a major hit, exclusively scoring long-range screamers.
He played late into his 30s, winning 94 caps for his country in that time and being a key part of the 2002 side.
Hakan Suker
- Age: 54
- Position: Forward
Nicknamed both the “Bull of the Bosphorus” and the “King”, Sukur might be the best-ever Turkish footballer but his legacy is as complicated as anyone in their history.
The striker spent the bulk of his career with Galatasaray, winning 14 trophies across three stints in between spells with Inter, Torino, Parma and Blackburn, scoring 289 goals, the second most in club history.
Sukur is also the top scorer for the national team, hitting 51 goals in 112 appearances including the quickest ever in a World Cup – 10.8 seconds in the third-place playoff against South Korea.
Like others, he moved into politics but has lived in exile in the USA since 2016 and is wanted for arrest by the Turkish government for being part of the Gulen movement.
Yildiray Basturk
- Age: 46
- Position: Midfielder
Another Turk to end up playing for Blackburn albeit for just one game in 2010, Basturk spent the rest of his club career in the county of his birth, Germany.
He is best remembered for his three years with Bayer Leverkusen, which saw him break onto the main stage in a thrilling side’s run to the 2002 Champions League final. The midfielder suffered heartache as “Neverkusen” lost two finals and came second in the Bundesliga.
A third place finish at the World Cup led to Basturk finishing ninth in the Ballon d’Or voting but his international career ended in 2008 after being left out of the EUROs squad and a subsequent fallout with legendary manager, Fatih Terim.
Hasan Sas
- Age: 49
- Position: Forward
A rather iconic bald-headed forward, Sas was one of Turkey’s stars in 2002, giving them a shock lead against Brazil in an eventual group stage defeat.
It was the peak of an international career that saw 40 caps and just one other goal, while at club level, he spent the bulk of his career with many of his international teammates at Galatasaray.
He has since spent two separate stints as an assistant manager at the club.
Omer Catkic
- Age: 51
- Position: Goalkeeper
A journeyman backup goalkeeper, Catkic is better known for being another 2002 star to fall foul of the very controversial Recep Tayyip Erdogan government.
While Sukur and Erdem fled the country after the 2016 failed coup, Catkic was sentenced to over two years in jail for his links to the Gulen movement.
Muzzy Izzet
- Age: 51
- Position: Midfielder
A Leicester City legend, Izzet was born in England but played for Turkey due to his father’s heritage.
A member of the Foxes team that twice won the League Cup under Martin O’Neill, the midfielder made over 300 appearances for the club between 1996 and 2004.
There were just nine international appearances although one came in 2002, one of two tournaments he played in.
Tayfur Havutcu
- Age: 55
- Position: Midfielder
Like so many Turks, Havutcu was born in Germany but eventually made his way back to his ancestral homeland, spending most of his playing career at Besiktas and making 44 appearances for the national team.
His managerial career has seen a combined 21 games for Beskitas across multiple caretaker stints and being cleared for match-fixing allegations. His most recent job was with Kasimpasa in 2019/20.
Nihat Kahveci
- Age: 46
- Position: Forward
The crown prince of the 2002 side, Nihat’s career started and ended with Beskitas but is best remembered by many for his time in Spain with Real Sociedad and Villarreal.
He spearheaded Sociedad’s title charge in 2002/03, scoring 23 goals to finish level with Ronaldo in second in the Pichichi race, and later hit 18 in another fine season for the Yellow Submarine.
His most famous moment with the national team came at EURO 2008 when scored twice in the space of a minute to complete a very late comeback win over Czech Republic. It helped the Turks into the quarter-finals but he missed their semi-final loss to Germany through injury.
Since retirement, he has returned to Villarreal as a youth coach.
Umit Ozat
- Age: 49
- Position: Defender
Capable of playing in both defence and midfield, Ozat made 41 appearances for Turkey between 2000 and 2005, scoring once.
At club level, he won three league titles with Fenerbahce, and since retirement he has managed a whole host of lower-tier clubs.
Ilhan Mansiz
- Age: 50
- Position: Forward
The bolter for the 2002 squad, Mansiz came from near-nowhere to top score the Super Lig. with Beskitas, netting 21 goals.
His World Cup career was equally impressive, scoring the Golden Goal against Senegal after coming on for Sukur. He assisted his legendary counterpart for the 10.8 seconds strike against South Korea before grabbing the other two in a 3-2 win.
His career ended in 2007 after a knee injury and he later went onto become a figure skater, just missing out on selection for the Turkish Olympic team.
Ergun Penbe
- Age: 53
- Position: Midfielder
One of the most influential players in the Gala glory years, Penbe scored in the shootout win over Arsenal in 2000 and won a total of 12 trophies with the Istanbul giants.
At international level, he made 48 appearances, playing at both left-back and left midfielder in EURO 2000 and the 2002 World Cup, making five appearances in the latter tournament.
Abdullah Ercan
- Age: 54
- Position: Midfielder
Like Penbe, Ercan played both left-back and left midfielder and made 68 total appearances for his country although he was a back-up at the World Cup.
At the club level, there was nine years with Trabzonspor, four with Fenerbahce and one with Galatasaray at the tail end of his career.
Hakan Unsal
- Age: 52
- Position: Defender
The fourth player on this list to play for Blackburn, and the third of four players to play under Graeme Souness in the Premier League, Unsal spent the vast majority of his career at Galatasaray with so many of his international teammates.
While his name might not be familiar, most will remember Rivaldo feigning injury late on in the group stage game when a Turkish defender kicked the ball towards him as the Brazilian delayed taking a corner.
The defender who was farcically sent off? Unsal.
Emre Belozoglu
- Age: 45
- Position: Midfielder
One of the best players in Turkish football history, Emre made his debut for Galatasaray aged just 16 and was part of the UEFA Cup-winning team in 2000 before moving to Inter the following summer.
He was the fourth and final member of this squad to play for Souness during his three seasons with Newcastle in the mid-2000s. This was followed by three stints with Fenerbahce broken up by spells with Atletico Madrid and Istanbul Basaksehir.
Emre’s legendary career lasted 23 years and saw him earn 101 caps but his international career had little success at tournament level. He featured little in 2002 before injury ruled him out early into EURO 2008.
He is the current manager of Kasimpasa.
Umit Davala
- Age: 52
- Position: Midfielder
Best remembered from the 2002 tournament for sporting a mohawk to rival any other, Davala had quite the career both in football and elsewhere, first making his name as a member of the Gala side that provided the bulk of the national team players.
He moved to Milan in 2001, joining former manager Terim, but was quickly discarded by Carlo Ancelotti after he took over. A swap deal sent him to Inter but he never played for the Nerazzurri.
He scored against China and Japan at the World Cup before retiring through injury a few years later, trying his hand at futsal and rap music before coaching stints with Turkey U21s and Gala.
Zafer Ozgultekin
- Age: 50
- Position: Goalkeeper
Ozgultekin made just five appearances for the national team but did go to the 2002 World Cup in the dream role of third-choice goalkeeper.