Orkun Kökçü is in the final selection of Turkey for the coming international match period. This means that the Feyenoord midfielder may come into action next Wednesday against the Dutch national team, which is visiting Turkey for the start of the World Cup qualifying cycle. It would be his third international match for Kökçü, after he made his debut against Serbia last September and played against Croatia in November.
Kökçü played a total of eighteen times for various youth teams of the Dutch, but decided in 2019 to continue his international career with Turkey. The selection of national coach Senol Günes also includes big names such as Merih Demiral (Juventus), Ozan Kabak (Liverpool), Çaglar Söyünçü (Leicester City) and Hakan Çalhanoglu (AC Milan). With Deniz Türüç (Istanbul Basaksehir) and Enes Ünal (Getafe), two other former players from the Eredivisie are represented.
It is not certain whether Turkey will have access to the players who are active in a club in France in the coming international matches. Due to the prevailing quarantine rules, the French clubs are not allowing their internationals to fly out for the time being. For Turkey, these are Lille OSC trio Burak Yilmaz, Yusuz Yazici and Zeki Çelik and Le Havre defender Umut Meras. Incidentally, it is also unclear whether Memphis Depay can join the the Dutch from Olympique Lyon.
After the game with the Netherlands this month, Turkey will also play against Norway and Latvia.
The selection of Turkey:
Target: Ugurcan Çakir (Trabzonspor), Mert Günok (Istanbul Basaksehir), Altay Bayindir (Fenerbahçe), Gökhan Akkan (Caykur Rizespor)
Defense: Zeki Çelik (Lille OSC), Nazim Sangaré (Fenerbahçe), Merih Demiral (Juventus), Ozan Kabak (Liverpool), Mert Müldür (Sassuolo), Caglar Söyünçü (Leicester City), Kaan Ayhan (Sassuolo), Umut Meras (Le Havre) , Caner Erkin (Fenerbahçe)
Midfield: Okay Yokuslu (West Bromwich Albion), Taylan Antalyali (Galatasaray), Dorukhan Toköz (Besiktas), Ozan Tufan (Fenerbahçe), Orkun Kökçü (Feyenoord), Irfan Can Kahveci (Fenerbahürçe), Hakan Çalçalhanoglu (AC Milan) Basaksehir)
Attack: Emre Kilinc (Galatasaray), Yusuf Yazici (Lille OSC), Halil Akbunar (Göztepe), Burak Yilmaz (Lille OSC), Enes Ünal (Getafe), Kenan Karaman (Fortuna Düsseldorf), Cenk Tosun (Besiktas)