Montella: Our biggest dream is to reach the World Cup

In the 3rd match of Group E in the 2026 FIFA World Cup European Qualifiers, Turkey defeated Bulgaria 6-1 away from home. Head Coach Vincenzo Montella made statements at the press conference held after the match. Stating that winning with 6 goals is of great importance in terms of goal difference, Montella said, "We started the match well and took a 1-0 lead. After the goal, we seemed to lose the rhythm of the match and adapted to the opponent's rhythm; we shouldn't do that."

Before the second half, we made some tactical adjustments in the dressing room, discussed what we needed to do to get the score we wanted, and then quickly found goals. We celebrated a bit too much after scoring the 6th goal, so I hope the Bulgarian fans will excuse us. It was very important for us to score 6 goals; we leveled the goal difference with Georgia, whom we see as our direct rival in the group. We will see how important it is in the next match," he said.

Explaining that he warned his players during the halftime break, the experienced coach said, "When the first half ends, you can recover the mental energy you spent during the break. We talked to our boys about what we needed to do, that we needed to open up the game more and use the width. If you find the width, you can exploit the opponent's depth better. Our players applied this perfectly, and we got the result we wanted."

"WE ACHIEVED MANY FIRSTS"

Using the words, "I am even more proud that we achieved such a first, that we won in Bulgaria for the first time, and that the victory came with such a score," Vincenzo Montella spoke as follows:

"Today we achieved many more firsts. Zeki scored his first goal in official matches, and I am very happy for him. Kenan scored a brace for the first time. I am very happy for him too; it was also our captain's 100th match, which was a proud moment. The difference in goals and the goal difference were very important. From this moment on, we must focus on the Georgia match and give all our energy to that game; it is a match of vital importance for us. We achieved many firsts, but our biggest dream is to reach the World Cup. We haven't been able to go for many years; how will we get there? Whether through the play-offs or in the way we imagined, the results on the pitch will determine that. No matter what, we will not give up on our dream and ambition of reaching the World Cup."

When asked, "How will today's game and score serve as a reference for the Georgia match? Will we see a similar squad?" Montella replied, "Today we proved once again how good the competition is and how deep our squad is. The pitch was bad; we slipped in many positions and couldn't stay on our feet. We will make some changes in the next match. Everyone spent a lot of energy, so there might be fatigue."

"IT MAKES US HAPPY AND PROUD"

The Italian coach responded to the question, "Perhaps the only moment you were disappointed in the match was the goal Can missed. Are we thinking correctly?" by saying, "You love creating stories. I started calling Can Uzun to the national team when he was playing in the second division. Of course, I will be very happy when our young, talented players score goals; we are following them closely. As you know, Kenan wasn't playing for his own team; he played his first official match with us and blossomed afterward. Seeing them like this makes me happy and proud. Irfan can always come off the bench and leave his mark in every match; seeing these things makes me proud."