Turkey's starting XI against Bulgaria has been announced
The Turkish National Football Team will face Bulgaria today in Bursa in the fifth match of Group E of the 2026 FIFA World Cup European Qualifiers. The match, which will be played at the Atatürk Sports Complex Matlı Stadium, will start at 20:00 and will be broadcast live on TV8.
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The match will be officiated by referee Nicholas Walsh from the Scottish Football Association. Walsh will be assisted by Francis Connor and Daniel McFarlane from the same country. The fourth official of the match will be Donald Robertson.
Before the fifth matches in Group E, Turkey is in second place with 9 points, while Georgia is in third place with 3 points. Any point or points the Crescent-Stars earn from this match will ensure they finish the group in the top two and secure a play-off spot.
Spain, which has won 4 out of 4 in the group, holds the top spot with 12 points, while Bulgaria, which has not earned any points, is in last place.
Our national team won the match played between the two teams in Sofia 6-1.
In the other match of the group, Georgia will host Spain tomorrow at the same time.
GROUP WINNER WILL GO DIRECTLY TO THE WORLD CUP
A total of 16 teams from Europe will qualify for the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted by the USA, Mexico, and Canada and will feature 48 teams, as a result of the qualifying matches.
In the European qualifiers, which will end in November, the 12 teams that finish their groups as leaders will qualify directly for the World Cup.
For the final 4 tickets, a total of 16 teams, including the 12 group runners-up and 4 teams from the UEFA Nations League, will compete. The play-off matches will be played in March 2026.
STARTING XI ANNOUNCED
Turkey: Uğurcan, Zeki, Merih, Abdülkerim, Ferdi, Hakan, İsmail, Oğuz, Arda, Kenan, Kerem.
Bulgaria: Mitov, Georgiev, Dimitrov, Chernev, Petrov, Krastev, Gruev, Kraev, Dimitrov, Rusev, Despodov.