A New Era for the National Team: Özer and Ünal Back in the Candidate Squad

The Turkish men's national football team will play Belgium on Thursday, November 12, in Group 1 of the UEFA Nations League. The squad is continuing its preparations for this match. The plan also includes an away trip to France on Sunday, November 15.

Berke Özer and Enes Ünal, who were called into the candidate squad after a long break, are excited to pull on the national shirt again. Özer, a 26-year-old goalkeeper who continues his career at Lille, last received a national call-up in October 2025. During that period, he left the camp without permission, and Muhammed Şengezer was included in the squad in his place. Özer last played for the national team in the 1-0 friendly defeat to Mexico on June 11, 2025. If he wears the shirt against Belgium, he will guard the national team's goal again after 519 days.

Enes Ünal, a 29-year-old striker who plays for Getafe, has also returned to the squad after 1 year and 11 months. Ünal last played for the national team in the UEFA Nations League match against Wales on November 16, 2024, which ended 0-0. After recovering from long and unlucky injury spells, the player is looking forward to playing in the Nations League again.

Serhat Öztaşdelen, a 21-year-old goalkeeper at Kocaelispor, has been invited to the Turkish national team candidate squad for the first time. If the young goalkeeper gets a chance in the Belgium or France matches, he will experience his first national team game.

The 11 players expected to start for Sergen Yalçın against Belgium are: Berke Özer, Zeki Çelik, Merih Demiral, Abdülkerim Bardakcı, Ferdi Kadıoğlu, Salih Özcan, Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Arda Güler, Yunus Akgün, Barış Alper Yılmaz, and Enes Ünal.