The Fascinating Impact of the Turkish Wonderkids at Euro 2024

Turkish Young Talent Emerging From Euro 2024

Imagine a national team in a major tournament that can name two teenagers in the starting line-up. The Turkish side has a great pool of young talents. They had two-star players in their starting line-up against Austria for the last 16 games in Leipzig, and this is the first of its kind since the 1960s. We are not only talking about the well-known wonderkids Arda Güler and Kenan Yıldız.

There is more to come from the Türkiye team and more out of the Euro 2024 squad. Arda and Kenan were both born in 2005 and played key roles in their national team’s success in the tournament. Arda scored a magnificent goal against Georgia. He made an assist in the Austria game and became the third teenager to score and make an assist in Euro’s history after Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.

Arda Güler: Turkish Rising Star

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Arda Güler is the most famous one on this extraordinary wonderkid list. His talent attracted many European giants last summer when rumours about his transfer to FC Barcelona hit the top. The arch-rivals of the Catalan club Real Madrid paid more than the minimum fee release clause of Arda to Fenerbahçe. They finalized the sensational transfer when he was just 18.

Arda could only play in the final part of the season for the Los Blancos because of injuries, but he scored six goals quickly and won every Real Madrid fan’s heart wıth his talent.

Carlo Ancelotti says the ball is in love with Arda Güler. He has an exceptional talent, and with his maturity and mental strength, he has every sign of being the most successful Turkish football player in history.

Kenan Yıldız: The German Connection

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Kenan Yıldız has a different path; he was born and raised in Germany. After a youth spell with Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, he continued his development with his new team in Italy, Juventus. He signed with the Torino team in July 2022, was quickly promoted to the main squad, and debuted in August 2023.

At 18 years and 233 days, he is Juventus’ youngest foreign goalscorer. The talented winger hasn’t scored in Euro 2024, but he is a massive threat to opponents on the left wing and a vital part of the success of the Turkish National team.

Semih Kılıçsoy: Beşiktaş Striker on the Rise

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Italian manager Vincenzo Montella also has another 2005-born gem in the squad. Beşiktaş striker Semih Kılıçsoy. Bournemouth striker Enes Ünal suffered an unlucky injury just after the national team’s season ended, and Semih found a place in the final squad for the Euros. He debuted with Beşiktaş in February 2023 and scored 11 goals in 27 games in the Turkish Super League last season.

Ahmetcan Kaplan: Ajax’s Defensive Asset

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They also have another young talent in the defensive line, Ahmetcan Kaplan. He is 21 years old and plays for Ajax in the Eredivisie. He is an up-and-coming 1.90m central defender and will face some of his teammates in the quarter-final against the Netherlands.

Montella couldn’t find a place among the 26 players for the tournament for FC Nürnberg striker Can Uzun, another Turkish gem born in 2005. He hails from Regensburg, the same Bavarian town as Kenan Yıldız, and developed through Nürnberg’s academy. Last season, he netted 16 goals in Bundesliga II for his Bavarian club. Recently, he inked a five-year deal with Eintracht Frankfurt.

The 2022 UEFA Europa League winners paid €11m to sign him. We will see him playing for Montella’s team more in the upcoming Nations League games in the last quarter of 2024. Türkiye will be in group B4 and play against Wales, Montenegro, and Iceland.

Türkiye’s Ambitions and Future Prospects

Watching the Turkish team play entertaining football in Germany is an immense joy. This group of wonderkids has a vast potential to bring success to their country.

Türkiye aims to win Euro 2032, which they will host with Italy. Before that, it will also be an enormous joy to watch this talented squad in Euro 2028 in the United Kingdom and maybe in the semifinal against England on July 10th in Dortmund.

Photo by Abdurrahman Erbaş on Unsplash