Türkiye's first participation since 2002, when they reached the semi-final and won the bronze medal, did not go as planned until it was too late.
After a disappointing opening defeat , they fell behind early and were unable to claw their way back into the game despite their opponents playing a man down for the entire second half. In both games, they had shots upon shots on goal but simply could not get the ball into the back of the net.
For the final game against co-hosts USA, after their second defeat had already confirmed Türkiye's early exit, that they would finally score that elusive goal and be able to say goodbye to this tournament with pride. The team .
After a rocky start to the game in which they again conceded just a couple minutes in, one of the team's – and football's – finally provided release. With his equaliser, Arda Guler became Türkiye's youngest ever goalscorer in a FIFA World Cup at 21 years and 150 days, breaking a record set the last time his nation was competing on the global stage, at Korea/Japan 2002.
It hasn't been an easy couple of weeks for the Turkish team, and the relief of finally being able to show their true face was palpable. "Today of all days, we finally won. We can return to our country with a little more pride," Guler told FIFA after the game. "Hopefully, we’ll be able to make everyone happy again."
Türkiye held up under the incessant pressure from the USA team cheered on by their home crowd at Los Angeles Stadium and even took the lead after half an hour. "We knew we were capable of playing at that level, but we saved that performance for the last game," Guler, who was crowned , said.
Although the US managed to draw level again, Türkiye stayed alert and seized their chance in the final seconds of the game when everything pointed towards a draw, with substitute Kaan Ayhan nabbing the 3-2 to round off a night of redemption.
With players like Guler and , who, despite being born in 2005 like their teammate Can Uzun, are already pillars of the team, Türkiye's future holds plenty of promise. "We aim to show that same level of play and that same determination again in our upcoming games," Guler promised. "We want to take part in future tournaments, represent ourselves better and bring more joy to our country."
Sources: FIFA Official
