Turkey sack Vincenzo Montella after four straight Nations League defeats

“It has been decided not to continue with our head coach”: the Turkish Football Federation made the call on Friday 9 October, at a board meeting. Vincenzo Montella leaves three years after succeeding Stefan Kuntz in September 2023, with a record of 40 matches, 21 wins, 5 draws and 14 defeats.

The fall is a sharp one for a coach who took Turkey to the Euro 2024 quarter-finals, where they lost 2-1 to the Netherlands, and then to a first World Cup since 2002. In North America, Turkey beat the United States, lost to Australia and Paraguay, and went out at the group stage, bottom of their section.

Eleven goals conceded in four matches

The Nations League finished him off. In Group A1, Turkey have lost all four games without taking a point:

• Turkey 0-1 France, at home;
• Turkey 1-4 Italy, at home;
• Belgium 3-0 Turkey at Sclessin, with a De Bruyne double and a Lukaku goal;
• Italy 3-1 Turkey, away.

After the defeat in Italy, Montella said: “We have a team that fought together. Our unity continues in the best possible way.” The federation read the situation differently.

Belgium await in Izmir on 12 November

The succession is open. Turkish and Italian media name Arda Turan, the Shakhtar Donetsk coach, as the favourite; the federation has confirmed no one. The calendar allows no breathing space: bottom of Group A1, Turkey host Belgium in Izmir on 12 November, then travel to France three days later. The new head coach starts with those two fixtures.