Turkey’s national team coach, Vincenzo Montella, has expressed his appreciation to Inter Milan for allowing Hakan Calhanoglu to join the squad early for World Cup preparations, calling the midfielder “our most important player.” However, Montella also revealed concerns regarding the fitness of Juventus prospect Kenan Yildiz.
Montella, who was present at the Europa League Final in Istanbul, spoke about the upcoming 2026 World Cup hosted by the USA, Mexico, and Canada. He emphasized the importance of player form upon arrival at the tournament and acknowledged that unexpected events can significantly impact outcomes, regardless of a team’s status as an underdog or favorite.
“The World Cup is a brief tournament, so it’s all about your form when you get there,” Montella stated. “Incidents can be decisive, but that is true both for the underdogs and the favourites for the trophy. Our objective is to get through the group stage, but we know that anything can happen in a one-off match. There is a lot of enthusiasm and confidence, but we mustn’t let it slip over into euphoria.”
Regarding Kenan Yildiz, the coach noted the young talent’s struggles with a recurring knee inflammation that has hampered his training. “Yildiz is 21 years old and I hope for his sake it will be the first of many World Cup adventures,” Montella said. “He had a few problems in his knee over the last couple of months that do not allow him to train at 100 per cent. I hope he can make a full recovery, we are a little bit worried about him, but he’s certainly not short on enthusiasm.”
The situation with Hakan Calhanoglu is more positive. Following Inter’s Scudetto and Coppa Italia triumphs, the club agreed to release the midfielder a week earlier for international duty to ensure he could work on regaining peak form. “I found out that he arrived in Istanbul today, so I thank Inter and the player, who will allow us to work with him from Friday. I hope he can rediscover the ideal form to play in the World Cup. Calhanoglu is one of our most important players, probably the most important.”
Inter Milan has granted all players participating in the World Cup an extended break, exempting them from the season’s final match.