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Türkiye’s women’s national football team hosts Slovenia on Oct. 9 in the first leg of the first round of the European playoffs for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The match will be played at Pendik Stadium in Pendik, a district on Istanbul's Asian side. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m.
Head coach Necla Gungor Kiragasi and team captains Selda Akgoz and Ebru Topcu spoke at a stadium news conference ahead of the match.
Kiragasi said the squad wants to open doors for young girls. “These girls want to achieve things, pave the way for young girls and become the team of firsts. This is our biggest motivation,” she said.
She said the team set out without waiting for outside motivation and will do its best against a strong opponent, whatever the result. “We respect Slovenia very much,” Kiragasi said, adding that their players perform in leagues far above the Turkish league.
Türkiye has some tactical variations to try and hope to turn the balls the team wins into attacks, the coach said. She described Slovenia as a side that presses high up the field and said she expects Türkiye’s midfield buildup to get them behind the Slovenian defense.
Kiragasi also pointed to the benefit of playing the first leg at home. “Our players wanted Pendik Stadium because we have not been beaten here,” she said. A favorable home score, she added, would raise motivation for the away leg.
She said Türkiye have lost to tough opponents before, but that shouldn't affect Friday’s performance. She expects the players’ tenacity to stand out.
Akgoz, the team’s goalkeeper, said the training camp began Sept. 29 and that the squad is physically and mentally ready.
“We dreamed of this six or seven years ago and we are very close now,” Akgoz said.
She said more shots come her way at this level but that this has not discouraged her.
Topcu said the team wants to win to build confidence. “We want to go to the World Cup and we are working very hard,” she said.
She said the players also train individually on days with only one team session, and she believes Türkiye has physically moved closer to stronger opponents.
The return leg is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 13, in Slovenia, with a 5:00 p.m. kickoff. The winner over the two legs advances to the second round of the playoffs, played between Nov. 26 and Dec. 5, where it meets the winner of the Hungary-Netherlands tie.
The seven highest-ranked second-round winners qualify directly for the World Cup, held in Brazil from June 24 to July 25, 2027. The lowest-ranked winner enters the inter-confederation playoffs in February 2027.
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