Original Nike football shirt Turkey 2004/06

The Turkey national football team is a team of male soccer players that represents Turkey in international matches. The usual nickname of this team is Ay-Yıldızlılar. Its literal meaning is the 'Moon Stars', derived from the white moon and the star on the Turkish flag.

In its 84th anniversary, the team can be divided into 4 periods. The period from 1923 (foundation) to 1940 was varied. During this period many foreign coaches were recruited, which was normal at the time. The period from 1950 to 1970 was successful, the team participated in its first ever World Cup in 1954 and played against South Korea (7-0 win) and West Germany (4-1 loss in the group stage, 7-2 loss in the play-off). In the meantime, Turkey also beat top countries such as Spain (1-0), World Cup finalist Hungary (3-1) and Portugal (3-1). The years between 1970 and 1990 were dark times: the Turkish team had fallen from a valued team to a football midget, the only highlights were missing the European Championship 1980 and the 1990 World Cup in the nick of time. In both cases, the team lost qualification in the last decisive matches. This was followed by another successful period: the team again made its mark at Euro 2000, the World Cup 2002 and Euro 2008. The Turkish national football team had the greatest success under coach Şenol Güneş, under him Turkey reached the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup. tournament but it was eliminated by Brazil. In the consolation final it then still took third place.