The Turkish national football team is gearing up for the 2024 European Football Championship (Euro 2024) with preparation matches against Hungary on Friday and Austria on Tuesday.
Head coach Vincenzo Montella has called up four players to the squad for the first time for the preparation matches.
Can Uzun, who has caught the eye playing for Nurnberg in the German Bundesliga 2, Semih Kılıçsoy, the young striker from Beşiktaş, Oğuz Aydın from Alanyaspor and Ahmetcan Kaplan, who has been a regular starter for Ajax this season, are experiencing the joy of being included in the Crescent-Stars squad for the first time.
Enes Ünal and Real Madrid's wunderkind Arda Güler have returned to the national team squad after a long absence.
Ünal, who was sidelined last season due to a cruciate ligament injury, has been included in the squad after approximately a year.
The experienced striker last played for the national team in the Euro qualifiers match against Croatia in Bursa in March last year.
Meanwhile, Los Blancos midfielder Güler has also been called up to the national team squad after a long absence.
The 19-year-old rising star, who has been sidelined due to injuries at his new club, has returned to the national team after a nine-month break.
In June, the former Fenerbahçe midfielder last played for the Crescent-Stars in the Euro qualifiers match against Wales in Samsun last year.
The national team, who will arrive in Hungary on Thursday for the match, will not return to the country after the preparation match.
They will continue preparing for the Austria match with a three-day camp in Hungary.
The team will then move to Austria on Monday.
Abdülkerim Bardakcı joined the national team squad last night, stepping in after Cengiz Ünder and Ferdi Kadıoğlu were sidelined due to injuries.
Rıdvan Yılmaz and Oğuz Aydın from Alanyaspor were initially called up, and following these additions, Bardakcı was included in the squads for the Hungary and Austria matches.
Hungary and Austria, the opponents in the national team's preparation match, will also compete in the European Championship in Germany in June.
The former, who finished the qualifiers undefeated, will compete against Switzerland, Germany and Scotland in the championship.
Austria, who finished the qualifiers in second place, will face the Netherlands, France and the winner of Path A in the championship.
Türkiye and Hungary have clashed 16 times, with eight official matches and eight friendlies in their history.
The Crescent-Stars emerged victorious in two of these encounters, while Hungary claimed victory 10 times, with two matches ending in draws.
In these matchups, Türkiye netted 17 goals but conceded 34.
Their rivalry dates back to the 1996 and 2008 European Championship Qualifiers and the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers.
Most recently, they met in the 2020/21 UEFA Nations League group stage.