The Turkey national football B team or Turkey national under-23 football team, also known as the Turkey A2 national football team, is a reserve team for the Turkey national football team. It features players from the A2 Ligi. The team played their first match in 2002 at the 2003 Future Cup. They have played 23 matches, winning eleven, drawing eight, and losing four.[2] The team is currently coached by Mehmet Yıldırım.[1]
| Nickname(s) | Ay Yıldızlar (The Crescent Stars) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Turkish Football Federation | ||
| Head coach | Mehmet Yıldırım[1] | ||
| Most caps | Tevfik Köse Ferhat Kiraz Kemal Tokak (8) | ||
| Top scorer | Veysel Sarı (4) | ||
| |||
| First international | |||
 Turkey A2 2–1 Germany B  (Mönchengladbach, Germany; 6 September 2002) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
Turkey A2 5–0 Estonia U-23  (Adana, Turkey; 29 February 2012) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 Denmark U-21 4–0 Turkey A2 (Vejle, Denmark; 6 June 2011) | |||
History
The A2 team was seldom used from the foundation in 2002 until 2008.[2]
When Guus Hiddink took over the senior squad, he re-introduced the reserve squad. The team came together for their first camp in Istanbul in November 2010. The team played their first matches against Belarus in February 2011.[3]
The team participated in the 2012 Toulon Tournament from 23 May to 1 June.[4] They finished in second place after losing the final to Mexico.[5] They also won the 2011–13 International Challenge Trophy.
At the 2013 Islamic Solidarity Games in Palembang, Indonesia, the team took the bronze medal defeating the squad of Saudi Arabia 2–1.[6] The team won its first gold medal in the tournament at the 2021 Islamic Solidarity Games in Konya, Turkey, by beating Saudi Arabia 1–0 in the final.[1]
Results and statistics
Olympic Games
| Olympic Games record | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
 1992 | did not qualify | ||||||||
 1996 | |||||||||
 2000 | |||||||||
 2004 | |||||||||
 2008 | |||||||||
 2012 | |||||||||
 2016 | |||||||||
 2020 | |||||||||
 2024 | |||||||||
| 2028 | to be decided | ||||||||
| 2032 | |||||||||
| Total | Quarter-finals | 0/9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Mediterranean Games
| Mediterranean Games record | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Rank | M | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
 1951 | did not participate | ||||||||
 1955 | |||||||||
 1959 | Runners-up | 2nd | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4 | |
 1963 | Runners-up | 2nd | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 7 | |
 1967 | Fourth place | 4th | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | |
| 1971 | Third place | 3rd | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | |
 1975 | Group stage | 7th | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | |
 1979 | Group stage | 5th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
 1983 | Runners-up | 2nd | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | |
 1987 | Third place | 3rd | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 2 | |
| 1991–present | See Turkey national under-20 football team | ||||||||
| Total | Runners-up | 8/10 | 32 | 15 | 7 | 10 | 41 | 33 | |
Most appearances and goals
- Appearances
| Player | Caps | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Tevfik Köse | 8 | 3 |
| Ferhat Kiraz | 8 | 0 |
| Kemal Tokak | 8 | 0 |
| Kağan Söylemezgiller | 7 | 0 |
| Necati Ateş | 6 | 3 |
- Goals
| Player | Goals | Caps |
|---|---|---|
| Yakup Alkan | 5 | 5 |
| Veysel Sarı | 4 | 4 |
| Ersen Martin | 3 | 5 |
| Necati Ateş | 3 | 6 |
| Tevfik Köse | 3 | 8 |
| Erdi Güncan | 3 | 5 |
| Melih Rahman Nişancı | 1 | 5 |
| Okan Baydemir | 1 | 5 |
| İbrahim Hırçın | 1 | 5 |
| Samet Katanalp | 1 | 5 |
| Oğuzhan Durmuş Çeşmeli | 1 | 5 |
| Ali Say | 1 | 5 |
| Orkun Dervişler | 1 | 5 |
Squads
Current squad
The squad as of 28 July 2022, which participated at the 5th Islamic Solidarity Games in Konya, Turkey from 8 August to 16 August 2022.[7]
Head coach: Mehmet Yıldırım
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Utku Yuvakuran | 11 February 1997 | Beşiktaş | |||
| GK | İrfan Can Eğribayat | 30 June 1998 | Göztepe | |||
| GK | Ataberk Dadakdeniz | 5 August 1999 | Antalyaspor | |||
| GK | Batuhan Şen | 3 February 1999 | Galatasaray | |||
| DF | Ahmet Gülay | 13 January 2003 | Alanyaspor | |||
| DF | Fatih Kuruçuk | 21 January 1998 | Bandırmaspor | |||
| DF | Muhammet Taha Şahin | 22 October 2000 | Manisa FK | |||
| DF | Tayyip Talha Sanuç | 17 December 1999 | Adana Demirspor | |||
| DF | İsmail Çokçalış | 21 June 2000 | Adana Demirspor | |||
| DF | Kazımcan Karataş | 16 January 2003 | Galatasaray | |||
| DF | Arda Kızıldağ | 15 October 1998 | Gaziantep | |||
| MF | Kartal Kayra Yılmaz | 4 November 2000 | Beşiktaş | |||
| MF | Polat Yaldır | 17 May 2003 | Samsunspor | |||
| MF | Ali Kaan Güneren | 8 April 2000 | Ankaragücü | |||
| MF | Mehmet Özcan | 10 August 1998 | Bandırmaspor | |||
| MF | Tuğbey Akgün | 9 April 2003 | none | |||
| MF | Burak Kapacak | 26 May 1998 | Fenerbahçe | |||
| MF | Barış Alper Yılmaz | 23 May 2000 | Galatasaray | |||
| MF | Adem Eren Kabak | 12 December 2000 | Konyaspor | |||
| MF | Celil Yüksel | 1 January 1998 | Samsunspor | |||
| FW | Muhammed Gümüşkaya | 1 January 2001 | Fenerbahçe | |||
| FW | Metehan Altunbaş | 7 January 2003 | Adanaspor | |||
| FW | Umut Nayir | 28 June 1993 | Giresunspor | |||
Honours
- International Challenge Trophy: 2011–13
- Future Team Cup: 2002–03,[8] 2004–05[9]
- Islamic Solidarity Games: gold in 2022, bronze in 2013