A matter of hair and fluff...

We watched it live as a nation; you don't get anywhere by sporting absurd punk hairstyles or dyeing your hair chick-yellow.

Moreover, this bitter truth doesn't change one bit with a desire for dreadlocks, eyebrows groomed with tweezers, or forcing a "nationalist" style onto your mustache.

And it certainly doesn't work by striking artistic poses on social media and trying to project the vibe of a digital influencer; there's no way it leads to success!

Our boys, having finally set foot in the World Cup after a quarter-century of longing, deeply disappointed the people of this country in their very first match.

Yet, at the crack of dawn, before even the crows had finished their breakfast, we were already glued to our screens, dreaming sweet dreams of how we would shred Australia to pieces.

The plans made at home didn't match the reality in the market.

Because our boys were too busy checking themselves out in the mirror before the match to concentrate on the ball, they took a clean beating on the pitch and were sent packing.

Whether it has finally dawned on them that the football pitch is not a barbershop is a mystery; however, we hope they have learned through bitter experience that the football arena doesn't reward hair gel, but rather sweat, stubbornness, and ambition.

I watched Cape Verde, who played like lions against the Spanish, with great attention.

For ninety minutes, they made life miserable for Spain, one of the heavyweights of world football, and made the pitch feel tiny for them. The great football giant couldn't find the back of the net even once against an island nation the size of a palm that you would struggle to find on a map.

Because the boys from the island weren't concerned with showing off their hairstyles, groomed eyebrows, or ideological mustache combinations; they were concerned with fighting with their hearts. They didn't go out onto the pitch to strut like runway models. They just wanted to break their opponents' spirit.

And they did it justice, locking down the scoreboard... In the end, when the ninety minutes were up, a big 0-0 was written on the scoreboard.

Anyone who understands football, and even those who don't, knows full well that the islanders left the pitch with a magnificent victory earned by their own merit. They didn't just snatch a point; they prevented Spain from easily gaining an advantageous position in the group.

No need to ramble on; the men wrote history on the green pitch with a bang.

Now, let's get to our fancy crew...

It's not that we have any business criticizing anyone's right to a barber, their hair, or their beard, that's a separate matter.

The issue isn't the athletes' hair or fluff; the real issue is where an athlete spends the energy in their tank!

On the pitch, there was a soulless national team display that didn't reflect even a fraction of the care they showed for their image in their actual play.

I mean, the hair was blow-dried, the eyebrows were perfectly groomed, and the mustaches were razor-sharp, but brothers, where was the football you were supposed to be playing?

When you examine the other clashes in the World Cup, this irony becomes glaringly obvious. I'm not just talking about Cape Verde checkmating the Spanish bull; look at how Brazil couldn't break through the Moroccan wall.

Likewise, Uruguay practically crashed against Saudi Arabia.

Now, some clever folks might look at the scoreboard and console themselves by saying, "Oh come on, it's just a draw."

No, that won't do, move on.

Every sensible football fan clearly sees that the real story behind these matches holds a much deeper narrative than the score.

In both football and life itself, it is not numbers that determine fate, but intentions and expectations.

For example, if a team's only concern is not to be crushed, they fight as needed and succeed like lions. The other's goal is to crush their opponent like a steamroller, but they make a mess of it.

This is how the wheel turns in international diplomatic chess, as well as in military and strategic moves. The failure of the side blinded by power is usually recorded as a great victory for the side that appears to be the underdog.

Some events that have erupted in global politics in recent days should be read with exactly this perspective.

Let's look at the issue of the US, with Israel by its side, baring its teeth at Iran. If we approach it with naive intentions, if Trump doesn't go haywire again or Israel doesn't set everything on fire with a last-minute act of madness, it seems like this commotion has come to an end.

As for the foreign news crew in our media, they are a complete circus! Either their heads are a total mess, or they are sitting in the studio and have sworn to mess with the settings of our people on purpose. They ignore the massive defeat on the field and act like cheerleaders, as if there were some brilliant strategy at play.

As soon as the slightest glimmer of compromise appeared on the horizon, they sent out the news with cowardly headlines that don't ruffle any feathers, like "a war with no winner" or "a result where both sides claim victory," trying to please everyone.

It's not journalism, it's practically diplomatic sugar-coating!

Yet, when you look at the matter in terms of the goals set, the picture is not that complicated at all. On one side, you have the world's most arrogant military power with the deadliest arsenal; it talks about toppling the regime on the other side, bringing it to heel, and whipping it into line.

On the other side stands a country whose marrow has been dried out by years of embargoes, struggling with economic and social crises, with a crippled industry and technology.

But at the end of the day, we saw that Uncle Sam couldn't meet any of the goals he had planned. Despite this, they are shamelessly giving victory speeches; Trump is also trying to craft a heroic story for himself out of this defeat. Yet, there is a failure standing there as plain as day on behalf of America.

The fact that the scoreboard says it's a tie doesn't change the reality; it's quite clear who is dancing with joy and who is bedridden with grief.

If you haven't achieved the goals you announced with fanfare when you set out, it means you have left that table defeated.

The imperialist mindset has been falling into the same trap for a long time. It thinks its military and financial power is a skeleton key that opens every door. It views the will, deep-rooted history, and patience of the people it faces as insignificant. It thinks that by targeting the leaders of a country, imposing an economic blockade, or leaving no stone unturned with bombs, that nation will kneel.

No way, it doesn't work like that.

Actually, they were slapped much earlier; they should have learned their lesson.

For example, at Gallipoli, for example, in the dark heart of Anatolia!

After the First World War, the world's most powerful states thought they could divide Anatolia like a cake. They drew maps, made plans, and chased after intricate calculations.

On paper, they held all the aces; their massive armadas, bags of money, and state-of-the-art death machines were running like clockwork.

But what they didn't account for was the unshakable, steel-like will of a genius who took a barefoot nation behind him and pulled the teeth of imperialism by saying, "Either independence or death."

Before I finish this piece, let's put the absurd, mind-boggling statement made by national team player Samet Akaydın on the table.

He blurted out that the players are extremely offended by being criticized for their hair, beards, and outward appearance.

Let's be clear; it would have been better if he hadn't opened his mouth at all.

Because he hasn't understood the essence of the matter at all. No one is telling the national team, "You dyed your hair yellow, that's why you conceded a goal." No one is crying, "We lost because you got dreadlocks," nor is anyone holding a personal vendetta against a player's mustache.

The real question is somewhere else entirely.

If these things are so trivial and unimportant, then why did the nation start talking about your image instead of the tactics as soon as the match ended?

Why did the players of Cape Verde make headlines with their ferocity on the pitch, while our boys' bangs, mustaches, and image became a topic of debate?

What bothers the people of this country is the massive contrast between the lackluster and soulless play on the pitch and that excessive, luxury-obsessed attitude and behavior in appearance. No one wonders about the hairstyle of a team that mops the floor with its opponent on the pitch.

Is there a single soul who remembers the haircut of the kids from Cape Verde who made life miserable for Spain today?

No.

Because football fans didn't look at their barber, but at their character and heart on the pitch.

Actually, what the nation is attacking here isn't hair or anything like that; it's the mentality. What is being targeted is the fact that priorities have been completely misplaced.

The real disgrace being criticized is that men who should be talking with their feet on the pitch have become figures of gossip, talked about only for their image.

Samet Akaydın is right about one thing; criticism is in the nature of this game. But those who pull on that crescent-and-star jersey must get it into their heads that this is not an ordinary pickup-game jersey. That fabric represents the hope, expectations, and pride of millions of people.

Naturally, people don't just look at the score and move on; they look at the seriousness reflected on the pitch, the commitment to the jersey, the fight, and the focus.

Because in these lands, people grew up listening to those magnificent struggles for existence fought at Gallipoli, Sakarya, and Dumlupınar. Our people embrace the man who fights until his last breath, no matter how monstrous the enemy or opponent in front of him may be.

They might swallow defeat, but they never forgive the state of mind that gives up and surrenders on the pitch!

Unfortunately, let us conclude our piece by saying that what drove the nation crazy in this match was not so much the numbers on the scoreboard, but that timid attitude and careless mindset reflected on the pitch.