EURO 2024 TEAM GUIDE - Turkey: Vincenzo Montella is tasked with getting Arda Guler, Hakan Calhanoglu and Co firing in Germany

Turkey are always viewed as one of the dark horses in big competitions, but sometimes struggle to prove their worth on the big stage.

But with a big Turkish contingent already in Germany, this is a huge opportunity for The Crescent Stars, having already topped their qualifying group ahead of World Cup semi-finalists Croatia, and Wales. 

Italian manager Vincenzo Montella has been in place since September of last year, and he is tasked with taking them out of Group F, where they will come up against Georgia, Portugal and Czechia.

Real Madrid teenager Arda Guler is one young star to look out for among the Turkey contingent, which also includes three stars in Serie A, including Hakan Calhanoglu, who won the Italian league with Inter. 

Turkey's best performance at the European Championships was a semi-final spot in 2008, but they will be eager to put in a strong showing in Germany this summer.  

Mail Sport takes you through Group F's Turkey, including how each qualified for the tournament, their history in the competition and who to look out for.

Turkey, always viewed as one of the tournament's dark horses, take their place in Group F

Who is the manager?  

Vincent Montella came into the role in September 2023. Before that, German Stefan Kuntz held the role for two years. 

Since Montella took over the reins, Turkey have won three and drawn one of their six matches. 

The 49-year-old, who celebrates his 50th birthday on June 18, the day of Turkey's opening group stage game, spent most of his playing career in Italy, but the striker had a loan spell with Fulham in 2007. 

Who is their star man?  

19-year-old Arda Guler made a name for himself at Fenerbahce, and attracted interest from across Europe - which led to a move to Real Madrid last summer.

Earlier this month, he became the fastest player to score six goals in LaLiga, claiming the total in just 330 minutes of playing time, including a goal on his first start at the end of April. 

Artificial Intelligence also predicted Guler would be a future winner of the Ballon d'Or, in 2038, and this tournament is a great opportunity for him to make a name for himself on an international stage.  

The squad also includes three Serie A players: Hakan Calhanoglu, who won the Scudetto at Inter Milan, teenage talent Kenan Yildiz at Juventus, and Roma's defender Zeki Celik. 

Manchester United goalkeeper Altay Bayindir will be hoping to deny goals from Turkey's group stage rivals.  

How did they qualify? 

Turkey topped Group D, ahead of World Cup semi-finalists Croatia, and Wales. They won five and drew two of their eight fixtures, with Armenia and Latvia also in the group. 

Turkey's only defeat came courtesy of Croatia in March 2023. 

Fixtures

June 18 - Turkey v Georgia (Dortmund, 5pm) 

June 22 - Turkey v Portugal (Dortmund, 5pm)

June 26 - Turkey v Czechia (Hamburg, 8pm) 

*All times in British Summer Time* 

Tournament history

Euro 96, in England, was the first time Turkey qualified for the European Championships, but they lost all three group stage games. 

Four years later, a win and a draw saw them progress to the quarter-finals in second place, before being ejected by Portugal. 

After failing to qualify for Euro 2004, they made it out of the group second in 2008. A penalty shootout victory over Croatia saw them advance to the semis, where they were eliminated by Germany. 

Another failure to qualify in 2012 was followed with a group stage exit in 2016. They finished third in the group, but missed out on a place in the knockout phase due to goal difference putting them behind the other third-placed teams. 

At Euro 2020, in 2021, they finished bottom of the group with three defeats to Italy, Wales and Switzerland. 

Will they improve on their best ever performance, that semi-final from 2008? Only time will tell... 

Odds to win the trophy 

Turkey are currently rated 80/1 with Sky Bet to lift the trophy. Odds are correct at the time of publication. 

Provisional squad

Goalkeepers: Altay Bayindir (Manchester United), Doğan Alemdar (Troyes), Mert Günok (Besiktas), Uğurcan Cakır (Trabzonspor)

Defenders: Mert Müldür (Fenerbahce), Cağlar Soyuncu (Fenerbahce), Ferdi Kadioğlu (Fenerbahce), Zeki çelik (Roma), Abdülkerim Bardakci (Galatasaray), Ahmetcan Kaplan (Ajax), Merih Demiral (Al-Ahli), Ozan Kabak (Hoffenheim), Samet Akaydın (Panathinaikos), Cenk Özkacar (Valencia)

Midfielders: Berat Ozdemir (Trabzonspor), Can Uzun (Nürnberg), Hakan Calhanoglu (Inter), İsmail Yuksek (Fenerbahce), Kaan Ayhan (Galatasaray), Okay Yokuslu (West Bromwich), Orkun Kokcu (Benfica), Salih Ozcan (Borussia Dortmund)

Forwards: Abdulkadir Omur(Hull City), İrfan Can Kahveci (Fenerbahce), Yunus Akgün (Leicester City), Kenan Yildiz (Juventus), Kerem Akturkoglu (Galatasaray), Barıs Alper Yilmaz (Galatasaray), Oguz Aydin (Corendon Alanyaspor), Arda Guler (Real Madrid), Bertug Yildirim (Rennais), Cenk Tosun (Besiktas), Semih Kılıcsoy (Besiktas), Enes Unal (Bournemouth), Yusuf Yazici (Lille)