3 lessons the USMNT can take from Türkiye's revealed World Cup roster

As the World Cup countdown continues, all the national teams are slowly announcing their squads. All 48 national teams must submit a finalised 26-man roster to FIFA by 1 June, which is the Monday after next, but of course many are doing so before then. Mauricio Pochettino's USA squad, for example, will be revealed on Tuesday 26 June.

The co-host's Group D rivals Türkiye have, so far, named a preliminary 35-man roster, which will be whittled down to 26 ahead of their friendlies against North Macedonia in İstanbul and then Venezuela in Fort Lauderdale. So, here are three things U.S. fans can learn from Vincenzo Montella's team.

1) Injured duo seem set to make it

As Türkiye prepare to compete at a first World Cup since 2002, they are sweating over the availability of two of their very best player. Firstly, Arda Güler has not featured since 21 April when he was replaced shortly after half time of Real Madrid's win over Alavés. He has been diagnosed with a "muscle injury in the biceps femoris of his right leg", which does not sound great, facing a race against time to be available for the tournament.

Meantime, captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu has been nursing both a calf and adductor issue all season long. He has sat out each of Inter's last four Serie A matches, albeit was back among the substitutes against Hellas Verona last weekend. Thus, there is optimism that the 32 year old will recover in time for Türkiye's World Cup opener against Australia in Vancouver.

Of course, the USA's chances of beating Türkiye would exponentially increase were they to be without Güler and Çalhanoğlu. However, they are both such integral figures that Montella is likely to include them in his 26, regardless of availability, hoping they can rebuild fitness during the summer.

2) Question marks in goal but expirence at the back

It remains far from certain who will be donning the Turkish gloves this summer. Uğurcan Çakır is the most likely candidate, having started both play-off victories in March. However, he only has one more cap than veteran Mert Günok, while Altay Bayındır of Manchester United got the nod for November's draw with Spain in Seville. The man who started last summer's friendlies against the U.S. and Mexico, namely Berke Özer, isn't even in the provisional squad, so he at least can be eliminated from contention.

Whoever is in-between the posts will have an experienced back four in front of them. Likely centre-back pairing Çağlar Söyüncü and Merih Demiral can boast 120 caps between them, while Mert Müldür and Zeki Çelik are vying to start at right-back. On the opposite side, Ferdi Kadıoğlu is the undisputed first-choice, having been excellent for Brighton this season, scoring the only goal of the night against Romania in the play-off semi-final at Tüpraş Stadyumu. The majority of Türkiye's starters were part of the team who reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2024, so boast major tournament expirence that other teams may lack.

3) Türkiye boast plenty of attacking firepower

The make up of Montella's forward line will be fascinating. Türkiye do not really boast a natural centre-forward, rather a collection of wingers and number tens, which will make them dangerous and difficult to deal with. We've already mentioned Güler, who scored against the USA in Connecticut last summer, one of his six international goals.

The other superstar is Juventus' Kenan Yıldız, who netted three times during qualification, bagging a brace against Bulgaria in Sofia, before breaking the deadlock when Georgia visited İzmit. He has scored 23 times across the last two seasons for the Bianconeri and is one of the highest-rated young attackers in world football, capable of winning a game by himself.

Alongside will be less famous but almost equally as talented players. Kerem Aktürkoğlu scored the winner in the play-off final against Kosovo, his 15th international goal, having previously made a name form himself with six Champions League goals. Barış Alper Yılmaz and İrfan Can Kahveci have also impressed in UEFA competition before, the latter bagging a Champions League hat-trick in 2020.

Put succinctly, this squad contains plenty of fast, dribbley and technical attackers which, when on song, will cause opposition defences problems. While many U.S. fans will not be overly familiar with many members of this squad, unless they're regular Süper Lig viewers, they should not be underestimated.

Türkiye's current 35-player World Cup squad

Goalkeepers

Defenders

Midfielders

Forwards

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