Newsletters
Türkiye will take on France in Bordeaux on Sunday in their final UEFA Nations League Group A1 match, looking to end a five-game losing streak and keep alive their hopes of remaining in the competition's top division.
The match at Matmut Atlantique Stadium will kick off at 10:45 p.m. Türkiye time (7:45 p.m. GMT) and will be broadcast live on ATV. English referee Chris Kavanagh will oversee the encounter, assisted by Dan Cook and Ian Hussin, with Robert Jones serving as the fourth official.
The fixture will also mark Türkiye's 660th international match and their second under head coach Sergen Yalcin, who recently took over from Italian manager Vincenzo Montella.
Türkiye sit bottom of Group A1 without a point after losing all five matches, including a 1-0 home defeat to France in September. They have also suffered two defeats each against Italy and Belgium, leaving them with a goal difference of minus 10.
Despite their winless campaign, Türkiye still have a chance to avoid automatic relegation to League B, the Nations League's second tier.
Under the competition's format, the two worst-performing teams among the four League A group winners' bottom-placed opponents will be relegated directly, while the other two fourth-placed teams will enter relegation play-offs against League B sides.
Ahead of the final round, Türkiye, Serbia and Czechia are all without points, while Norway has three. Serbia has a goal difference of minus seven, compared with minus 10 for both Türkiye and Czechia.
Elsewhere in Group A1, Italy and France have 10 points each, followed by Belgium with nine. Belgium will host Italy in Brussels at the same time as Türkiye's match.
Türkiye heads into the match having won just once in their previous eight internationals, recording seven defeats while scoring five goals and conceding 18.
Their only victory during that period came against the United States at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, where they also lost to Australia and Paraguay.
Yalcin will have defender Abdulkerim Bardakci available again after the Galatasaray player's suspension ended. However, Ozan Kabak will miss the match after picking up a suspension against Belgium and subsequently leaving the national team camp.
The 24-man squad includes Real Madrid midfielder Arda Guler, Inter's Hakan Calhanoglu, Brighton defender Ferdi Kadioglu and Roma's Zeki Celik.
France, coached by Zinedine Zidane, have named a squad featuring Kylian Mbappe, Michael Olise, Eduardo Camavinga and Desire Doue.
Sunday's encounter will be the eighth meeting between the two senior national teams, with France having won five of the previous seven matches, compared with one victory for Türkiye and one draw.
Türkiye's only win came in June 2019, when they beat France 2-0 in Konya during qualifying for UEFA Euro 2020. The teams subsequently drew 1-1 in Paris that October.
Their most recent meeting took place in Kocaeli on Sept. 25, when Mbappe scored the only goal in France's 1-0 victory. Türkiye finished that match with 10 players after goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir received a red card in the 87th minute.
Across their seven previous meetings, France have scored 14 goals and Türkiye five.
Türkiye will now seek to improve that record while attempting to avoid a winless Nations League campaign.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
