Türkiye’s national football team spent 2025 walking a narrow line between pressure and promise and more often than not, it delivered.
From earning promotion to UEFA Nations League A to keeping its World Cup dream alive through the playoffs, the Crescent-Stars stitched together a year defined by growth, belief and historic benchmarks under Vincenzo Montella.
The results followed the progress.
Türkiye surged three places in the FIFA rankings, finished second behind Spain in its World Cup qualifying group and closed the year looking closer to its long-lost elite status than at any point in nearly a decade.
Montella’s rising project
Türkiye ended 2025 ranked 25th in the world with 1,582.69 points, its highest position since June 2017.
The climb capped a steady ascent since Montella took charge in September 2023, with the national team rising 17 places in less than two years.
The numbers mirrored the eye test: a side more confident on the ball, sharper in attack and increasingly resilient away from home.
Türkiye played 10 matches in 2025, eight competitive and two friendlies, finishing with seven wins, two defeats and one draw.
Montella’s team scored 25 goals and conceded 15, with the bulk of the scoring coming in meaningful moments.
Seventeen goals arrived in World Cup qualifiers, six more in the Nations League playoff and two during summer friendlies.
Aktürkoğlu leads the line again
Kerem Aktürkoğlu finished 2025 as Türkiye’s top scorer for the second straight year, netting four times.
Arda Güler and Kenan Yıldız followed with three goals each, while Hakan Çalhanoğlu, İrfan Can Kahveci and Merih Demiral contributed two apiece.
A wide supporting cast chipped in, underlining the squad’s growing depth and the sense that Türkiye is no longer reliant on a single attacking outlet.
Çalhanoğlu reaches 100
Captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu crossed a personal milestone on Oct. 11 against Bulgaria, earning his 100th cap for Türkiye.
At 31, he also matched Bülent Korkmaz’s tally of 102 appearances for third place on the all-time list and drew level with Tuncay Şanlı on 22 goals, fourth most in national team history.
It was a symbolic moment for a captain who has become the heartbeat of Montella’s side.
Historic wins and firsts in 2025
The year carried its share of landmark results.
Türkiye crushed Bulgaria 6-1 away in World Cup qualifying, its biggest-ever win against that opponent.
A 2-1 friendly victory over the United States marked Türkiye’s first win on American soil.
Montella, meanwhile, etched his name into the record books as the most successful foreign coach in Türkiye’s history, both overall (15 wins) and away from home (seven), while rising to third on the national team’s all-time wins list.
Nations League promotion
Türkiye opened 2025 in perfect fashion.
A 3-1 home win over Hungary on March 20, followed by a commanding 3-0 victory in Budapest three days later, sealed promotion to UEFA Nations League A, a statement step into Europe’s top tier.
The draw for the 2026-27 Nations League A season will be held Feb. 12, 2026, in Brussels.
A summer camp in the United States followed, where Türkiye beat the hosts before suffering its first defeat of the year against Mexico.
World Cup dream alive
Türkiye finished second in European Qualifying Group E behind top-ranked Spain, collecting 13 points and earning a playoff berth.
The only blemish came in a heavy 6-0 loss to Spain in Konya, balanced by a 2-2 draw away.
The playoff path is now clear: a semifinal at home against Romania on March 26, 2026, followed, if successful, by a final against the winner of Slovakia vs. Kosovo.
Two wins would send Türkiye to the 2026 World Cup.
If qualified, Türkiye would land in Group D alongside the United States, Paraguay and Australia.
Youth at the center
Kenan Yıldız logged more minutes than any Turkish player in 2025, spending 774 minutes on the pitch.
Kerem Aktürkoğlu (749) and Merih Demiral (709) followed closely, reflecting Montella’s trust in a young but increasingly seasoned core.
Seven players earned their first senior caps during the year, including Atakan Karazor, Berke Özer and Deniz Gül, the latter scoring his first international goal alongside Salih Özcan in a draw against Spain.