Striking claim from Altaylı: Erdoğan was very angry when the idea of watching a match with Trump fell through

According to information attributed to a high-level figure at the center of Turkish football, the early farewell to the World Cup, which we participated in after a 24-year hiatus, resonated not only in the sports community but also in the corridors of politics and diplomacy. As reported by journalist Fatih Altaylı, while the background of the failure in the tournament lies in the wrong choice of training camp and erroneous friendly matches, the detail that draws the most attention is that the "show of strength" plan prepared for the United States match fell through.

EFFORTS TO SIT SIDE-BY-SIDE WITH TRUMP IN THE STANDS

According to the claims in Altaylı's article, President Erdoğan had a special plan for the match against America, which was the final group match in the World Cup. 

It was planned to travel to the US with a large delegation, including business people and politicians from Turkey, for the match.

As part of a potential show of strength, efforts were being made for President Erdoğan to watch the match side-by-side with Donald Trump in the stands.

The consecutive defeats the National Team suffered in its first two matches (against teams identified as Paraguay and Australia) and its early elimination from the tournament rendered all these massive preparations meaningless.

According to Altaylı and his anonymous source, the grave mistakes of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) lie behind the missed historic opportunity and the cancellation of diplomatic plans. 

The team was taken to a training camp in the Arizona heat, which reached 50 degrees in the shade. After training under the sun, where the felt temperature reached 60-70 degrees, the players moved to air-conditioned hotels at 20 degrees, and then flew to Los Angeles, which has 29-degree weather and high humidity, for the match. According to experts, this jet-lag and climate chaos, which was "suicidal," exhausted the team.