Turkey lost all four of their Nations League games under Vincenzo Montella by a combined 11-2, and the Turkish federation replaced him with Sergen Yalçın. The new coach's first decision for Thursday's game against Belgium in Izmir was to answer the question Turkish reporters kept asking. "You kept asking if there was no striker — I brought one with me," Yalçın said. "Enes will start. Let me answer the question everyone is wondering about: yes, we will play with a centre-forward."

How Montella's run ended

Montella lasted three years, with 21 wins, five draws and 14 losses, according to RTBF. The end came fast: Turkey went out in the group stage of the 2026 World Cup this summer, then opened League A Group 1 with two losses to Italy and one each to France and Belgium, including a 3-0 defeat in Liège last month. With zero points from four games, they are all but relegated with two matches left.

Yalçın, 54, is a former Turkey midfielder who played for Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş and won the league and cup double as Beşiktaş coach in 2021. He left Beşiktaş six months ago after a fourth-place finish. His first squad left out Montella regulars İrfan Can Kahveci, Kerem Aktürkoğlu and Mert Müldür.

Enes Ünal up front, Güler behind him

Enes Ünal, the Bournemouth striker, gets the start. Yalçın also called Brighton full-back Ferdi Kadıoğlu "100 percent ready," and said Zeki Çelik is unlikely to start after injury. Arda Güler is back from suspension after scoring and assisting in Real Madrid's win at Valencia, and so is Barış Alper Yılmaz. Defender Abdülkerim Bardakcı is suspended, Aral Şimşir was withdrawn injured and Kenan Yıldız is still out with a metatarsal fracture.
Belgium arrive third in the group with six points from four games and chasing a quarterfinal place. Mark van Bommel is without the injured Romelu Lukaku and the suspended Romeo Lavia, and Thibaut Courtois is still taking a break from international duty. Kevin De Bruyne and Youri Tielemans are back from suspension, and Jérémy Doku returns after missing October through injury.

Kickoff at the Gürsel Aksel Stadium is at 8 p.m. local time (noon ET), with Swiss referee Sandro Schärer in charge. Turkey then finish the group in France on Sunday, so Yalçın's begining comes against two of the

strongest sides in the section, with Hakan Çalhanoğlu one goal from passing Tuncay as Turkey's third-highest scorer.