Turkey are top of their qualifying group with a team of young players developed at home benefiting from the guidance of 39-year-old Emre Belozoglu
Turkey sit top of their Euro 2020 qualifying group, ahead of
France on head-to-head, but perhaps the most satisfying thing for the coach, Senol Gunes, and the
Turkish Football Federation is that the results have come while picking young players who have had their football education in their home country.
This is not how it used to be. Gone are players such as Arda Turan who, after breaking a singer’s nose and then threatening them with a gun in an Istanbul hospital, was always going to struggle to get his career back on track, and the old guard has been replaced by a group of young players who have the capacity to make waves at next year’s tournament, should they qualify.