28.05.2025 16:50
The head coach of the national team, Vincenzo Montella, made statements regarding his squad choices and the lack of a pivot forward ahead of the friendly matches against the USA and Mexico. In response to a question about his forward selections, Montella, annoyed, said, "There are certain balances in the national team as well. Pivot forward... I don't understand what you mean regarding the forward player."
The A National Team's head coach Vincenzo Montella made statements before the friendly matches to be played against the USA and Mexico.
Emphasizing the importance of the matches, Vincenzo Montella said, "In recent years, the A National Team has become more attractive. We will be playing against two teams that will host the World Cup. Our team's attractiveness has increased, which is why they accepted such a friendly match. When we evaluate all the friendly matches, it is clear that we made these selections within a logical framework. Even a defeat in such matches can teach you something. We received an invitation from the other side of the world, and this makes us proud," he stated.
Continuing his statements and responding to a question about players who are not in the squad, Vincenzo Montella said, "We have reached the end of the season, and I have decided to rest some players. I want them to start the new season in the best possible way. The most important period for us will start in September. We have added young players to the squad; we wanted to see them. Mert Günok could not rest after the European Championship. I wanted to protect them. Emirhan Topçu also could not play for a while, and I did not want to take risks with him. The same applies to Aral Şimşir. We evaluated with the doctors and thought it could be a risky period, and he could get injured. That’s why we did not include them in the squad," he said.
"I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU MEAN"
In response to a question about forward selections, Montella explained, "I can say that every team has its own balance. There are certain balances in the National Team as well. Pivot forward... I do not understand what you mean regarding the forward player. I was also a short player with a different physical capacity," he replied.
The A National Team squad includes the following players;
Goalkeeper: Altay Bayındır (Manchester United), Berke Özer (Eyüpspor), Muhammed Şengezer (Başakşehir), Uğurcan Çakır (Trabzonspor)
Defense: Eren Elmalı (Galatasaray), Çağlar Söyüncü, Mert Müldür, Yusuf Akçiçek (Fenerbahçe), Samet Akaydin (Çaykur Rizespor), Merih Demiral (Al-Ahli), Zeki Çelik (Roma), Mustafa Eskihellaç (Trabzonspor), Yasin Özcan (Kasımpaşa)
Midfield: Demir Ege Tıknaz (Rio Ave), Hakan Çalhanoğlu (Inter), İsmail Yüksek (Fenerbahçe), Orkun Kökçü (Benfica), Salih Özcan (Borussia Dortmund), Kaan Ayhan (Galatasaray), Okay Yokuşlu (Trabzonspor)
Forward: Arda Güler (Real Madrid), Barış Alper Yılmaz (Galatasaray), İrfan Can Kahveci, Oğuz Aydın (Fenerbahçe), Can Uzun (Eintracht Frankfurt), Deniz Gül (Porto), Kenan Yıldız (Juventus), Kerem Aktürkoğlu (Benfica), Mustafa Erhan Hekimoğlu (Beşiktaş)