İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu and Montella challenged their rivals.

```html

Our National Team has been matched with the winner of the Bulgaria, Georgia, and Spain-Netherlands match in the 2026 World Cup European qualifiers. After the draw, Turkish Football Federation President İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu and the head coach of the Crescent-Stars, Vincenzo Montella, evaluated the matchups.

HACIOSMANOĞLU: THE BEST GENERATION IN HISTORY

The TFF President stated that they have great confidence in the National Team, saying, "If God permits, we will go to the USA after 22 years. It has been 22 years. I believe this is the best and most characterful generation in history. We have infinite faith that we will go to America. We will do our best together with the friends."

HACIOSMANOĞLU: WE HAVE A SCORE TO SETTLE WITH THE NETHERLANDS

Hacıosmanoğlu, who expressed that he wanted the Netherlands from the Spain-Netherlands matchup, said, "We have a score to settle with the Netherlands. We will support them to defeat Spain. After that, we will focus on our own business," he stated.

MONTELLA: WE ARE READY FOR ANYONE, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHO THE OPPONENT IS

Montella, who said they drew a tough lot, stated, "We may be in one of the toughest groups, but we are ready for every team, it doesn't matter who the opponent is. Spain is the reigning European champion. We drew Georgia, a tough opponent from the third pot. From the fourth pot, Bulgaria, the highest-ranked team in that pot, came. However, we have no excuses; perhaps playing against good teams will motivate our players even more," he said.

MONTELLA: 22 YEARS IS A LONG TIME

Pointing out that 22 years is a very long time, the Italian coach said, "We have a good and young team, and I believe that playing matches at such a high level will develop our players physically and mentally. 22 years is a long time, but we are ready for this group and we want to come out on top. If we can't be first, we want to go to the playoffs as second."

ALL MATCHUPS IN FIFA WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS

• Group A: Germany/Italy Nations League Quarter-Final winner - Slovakia - Northern Ireland - Luxembourg
• Group B: Switzerland - Sweden - Slovenia - Kosovo
• Group C: Portugal/Denmark Nations League Quarter-Final loser - Greece - Scotland - Belarus
• Group D: France/Croatia Nations League Quarter-Final winner - Czechia - Iceland - Azerbaijan
• Group E: Spain/Netherlands Nations League Quarter-Final winner - TURKEY - Georgia - Bulgaria
• Group F: Portugal/Denmark Nations League Quarter-Final winner - Hungary - Republic of Ireland
• Group G: Spain/Netherlands Nations League Quarter-Final loser - Poland - Finland - Lithuania
• Group H: Austria - Romania - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Cyprus
• Group I: Germany/Italy Nations League Quarter-Final loser - Norway - Israel - Estonia
• Group J: Belgium - Wales - North Macedonia - Kazakhstan
• Group K: England - Serbia - Albania
• Group L: France/Croatia Nations League Quarter-Final loser - Czechia - Montenegro

WHEN ARE THE MATCHES?

The first matches in the five-team groups will be played in March, while matches in the four-team groups will start in September.

16 COUNTRIES FROM EUROPE WILL GO TO THE WORLD CUP

A total of 16 countries will qualify for the 2026 World Cup, which will feature 48 teams. The 12 teams that finish first in their groups in the European qualifiers will earn direct qualification to the World Cup. For the last 4 tickets, a total of 16 teams will compete in playoff matches, consisting of the 12 group runners-up and 4 teams from the UEFA Nations League. The playoff matches will be played in March 2026.

WHEN IS THE 2026 WORLD CUP?

In the 2026 World Cup, 48 teams will compete in 12 groups, and a total of 104 matches will be held throughout the organization. The opening match of the world's most important football tournament will be played on June 11, 2026, at the 83,000-capacity Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, Mexico. The final match of the 2026 World Cup will take place on July 19, 2026, at the 82,500-capacity MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, USA.