Turkey turned to Sergen Yalçin on the same day the Federación Turca de Fútbol dismissed Vicenzo Montella, a swift change driven by a run of defeats that has left the side with nothing left to play for in the group race. The move comes after Turkey lost all of its last window of international matches and extended its losing streak to seven official games.
That is why Turkey Vs Belgium is being watched now: Belgium still has a live path to the top of Group 1, while Turkey is trying to stop the slide before the damage deepens further. Belgium has six points and sits third, Italy is second with seven, and France leads with 10, which means Belgium needs a victory in this match to keep any first-place hope alive for the final day.
The numbers behind Turkey's slump are hard to ignore. The side has no mathematical chance of advancing, yet the federation has chosen to change course now rather than wait for the window to close. Yalçin inherits a squad with creative pieces in Arda Güller, Çalhanoğlu and Can Uzun, but also one missing Yildiz, who has been out since the end of August with a foot injury. Uzun, 21, is valued at 45 million euros by Transfermarkt, a reminder that Turkey's problem is not a lack of talent so much as a team that has not turned it into results.
Belgium arrives with its own gaps, but not its own collapse. Romeo Lavia is unavailable, Courtois was not included in the squad, and Charles De Ketelaere is viewed as the most notable attacking option because he can operate in several roles. Kevin De Bruyne remains the central threat, and Turkey already felt that in the group-stage meeting on matchday 3, when Belgium won 3-0 and De Bruyne scored twice.
That history matters because the matchup has usually been tight even when the table has not been. The last five meetings have been split unevenly, with Belgium winning two, Turkey one and two ending level, so this is not a rivalry that has belonged to one side for long. Still, the immediate question is less about the past than about whether Yalçın can interrupt Turkey's slide quickly enough to matter, while Belgium must beat Italy in the next round and hope France does not make the path impossible before the final day.
