Turkey women's national football team

The Turkey women's national football team (Turkish: Türkiye kadın millî futbol takımı) represents Turkey in international women's football. The team was established in 1995, and compete in the qualification for UEFA Women's Championship and the UEFA qualifying of FIFA Women's World Cup. It has been recognized as Türkiye by the FIFA and UEFA since 2022.[2][3]

Türkiye
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Ay-Yıldızlılar (The Crescent-Stars)
Bizim Çocuklar
(Our Girls)
AssociationTürkiye Futbol Federasyonu (TFF)
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachNecla Güngör Kıragası
CaptainDidem Karagenç
Most capsEbru Topçu (101)
Top scorerYağmur Uraz (28)
Home stadiumVarious
FIFA codeTUR
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 46 Increase 5 (16 June 2026)[1]
Highest51 (April 2026)
Lowest75 (December 2007)
First international
 Turkey 0–8 Romania 
(Istanbul, Turkey; 8 September 1995)
Biggest win
 Turkey 9–0 Georgia 
(Adana, Turkey; 23 November 2006)
Biggest defeat
 Turkey 1–12 Germany 
(Istanbul, Turkey; 14 February 1999)
Turkey attacking Belarus with Bilgin Defterli on 17 September 2014.
Turkey's attack being stopped by Sara Däbritz (white/black) of Germany at the UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualifying Group 5 match on 8 April 2016.

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) is the sports organizing body responsible for forming the women's teams in four age categories as the women's national A team, the women's U-19 national team, the girls' U-17 national team and the girls' U-15 national team.[4]

The women's U-19 national team was formed firstly in 2001, and participate at qualifications for the UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship. The girls' U-17 national team was founded in 2006. They play in the qualifications of the UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship. Established in 2009 with the main objective to develop players for future, the girls' U-15 national team take part at the Youth Olympic Games and various tournaments.[4]

History

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The first recorded international match of the Turkey women's national team was the friendly game against Romania held at Zeytinburnu Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey on 8 September 1995, which ended in a 0–8 defeat for the Turkish nationals.[5] The team took part at the UEFA Women's Euro 1997 qualifying round and debuted in the away match against Hungary on 4 October 1995, losing 0–6.[6]

The nationals won their first match against Georgia at the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification round on 25 September 1997 after eleven losses.[7]

The biggest loss of the Turkey women's national team was against Germany with 1–12 in a friendly match on 14 February 1999.[8] The team's biggest win was with 9–0 against Georgia at the UEFA Women's Euro 2009 qualifying match on 23 November 2006.[9]

The women's national team were not formed in the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 because the women's football in Turkey was suspended during this period.[10][11]

Turkey put up its best performance in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification, as Turkey acquired an important draw over Portugal and three wins, though the team still failed to qualify at the end.

Team image

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Nicknames

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The Turkey women's national football team has been known or nicknamed as the "Crescent Stars (Ay-Yıldızlılar)".

Home stadium

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Turkey play their home matches on TFF Riva Facility, a facility of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) for camp and training purposes of all Turkey national football teams. It is located in Riva, Beykoz district of Istanbul Province, Turkey.

Results and fixtures

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The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Legend

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2025

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28 November Friendly Albania  1–1  Turkey Istanbul, Turkey
19:00 Hilaj 20' Topçu 50' Stadium: Esenyurt Necmi Kadıoğlu Stadium
Referee: Lutfaliyeva (AZE),
Nuriyeva(AZE),
Akbarzada (AZE)
1 December 2025 (2025-12-01) Friendly Turkey  2–0  Albania Istanbul, Turkey
19:00 Şeker 14'
Altunkulak 81'
Stadium: THY Fielad
Referee: Lutfaliyeva (AZE),
Nuriyeva(AZE),
Akbarzada (AZE)

2026

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All-time records

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The following table shows Turkey women's all-time international record As of 17 July 2023:[12]

Period Pl W D L GF GA
1995–2023151531880236367

Matches by year

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As of 7 March 2026[10]

YearTotalOfficialFriendly
1995422
1996642
1997541
1998862
1999633
2000330
2001743
2002642
2006330
2007220
2008550
2009550
2010660
2011954
2012550
2013330
2014770
2015954
2016330
2017734
2018404
20191055
2020651
2021954
2022954
20231064
20241082
20251082
2026220
Total17912653

Coaching staff

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Current coaching staff

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As of 17 July 2023
Position Name
Head coach Turkey Necla Güngör Kıragası
Assistant coach(es) Turkey Begüm Üresin
Turkey Hilal Başkol
Goalkeeping coach Turkey Sinan Sevim
Director of football development Turkey Oğuz Çetin

Manager history

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As of 29 October 2024
NamePeriodPldWDLGFGAGDWin %Ref
Atılay Canel2002200237−40
Hamdi Aslan2006–20102112365633+2357.1
Yücel Uyar20118125825−1712.5
Nur Mustafa Gülen2011–20124004116−150
2013–20148305923−1437.5
Ogün Temizkanoğlu20122002113−120
Suat Okyar2014210138−550
Talat Tuncel2015–201933125165165−1436.4
Necla Güngör Kıragası2020–50296159357+3658

Players

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Current squad

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The following players were called up for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification matches against Switzerland on 14 and 18 April 2026.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Selda Akgöz (1993-06-09) 9 June 1993 (age 33) 32 11 Turkish Football Federation ABB Fomget
12 1GK Göknur Güleryüz (2003-02-04) 4 February 2003 (age 23) 1 0 Turkish Football Federation Fenerbahçe
23 1GK Gamze Nur Yaman (1999-04-25) 25 April 1999 (age 27) 26 0 Turkish Football Federation Trabzonspor

2 2DF Meryem Küçükbirinci (2004-03-03) 3 March 2004 (age 22) 22 3 Turkish Football Federation Hakkarigücü
3 2DF Fatma Şakar (1999-03-26) 26 March 1999 (age 27) 27 6 German Football Association Union Berlin
4 2DF Eda Karataş (1995-06-15) 15 June 1995 (age 31) 30 9 Turkish Football Federation Galatasaray
5 2DF İpek Kaya (2003-02-04) 4 February 2003 (age 23) 31 0 Turkish Football Federation Fenerbahçe
15 2DF Kezban Tağ (1993-09-17) 17 September 1993 (age 32) 32 3 Turkish Football Federation Hakkarigücü
17 2DF İlayda Civelek (1998-07-06) 6 July 1998 (age 28) 27 11 Turkish Football Federation Beşiktaş
20 2DF Elif Keskin (2002-01-12) 12 January 2002 (age 24) 24 9 Turkish Football Federation Galatasaray
21 2DF Gülbin Hız (1994-06-11) 11 June 1994 (age 32) 31 9 Turkish Football Federation Beşiktaş

6 3MF Selen Altunkulak (1997-12-02) 2 December 1997 (age 28) 28 3 French Football Federation Toulouse
7 3MF Arzu Karabulut (1991-01-30) 30 January 1991 (age 35) 35 4 Turkish Football Federation ABB Fomget
10 3MF Ebru Topçu (1996-08-27) 27 August 1996 (age 29) 101 25 Turkish Football Federation Galatasaray
11 3MF Miray Cin (2001-07-05) 5 July 2001 (age 25) 24 10 German Football Association Borussia Mönchengladbach
11 3MF Halle Houssein (2004-12-11) 11 December 2004 (age 21) 21 2 The Football Association West Ham United
16 3MF Cansu Nur Kaya (2000-02-20) 20 February 2000 (age 26) 26 1 Turkish Football Federation Beşiktaş
18 3MF Başak İçinözbebek (1994-02-13) 13 February 1994 (age 32) 32 3 Turkish Football Federation ABB Fomget

8 4FW Melike Pekel (1995-04-14) 14 April 1995 (age 31) 31 9 Turkish Football Federation Galatasaray
9 4FW Kader Hançar (1999-11-12) 12 November 1999 (age 26) 26 11 Mexican Football Federation Club Tijuana
13 4FW Vildan Kardeşler (1998-02-24) 24 February 1998 (age 28) 2 0 German Football Association Hamburger SV
19 4FW Busem Şeker (1998-07-19) 19 July 1998 (age 27) 27 11 Turkish Football Federation Fenerbahçe
22 4FW Melike Öztürk (2001-04-01) 1 April 2001 (age 25) 25 6 Turkish Football Federation Galatasaray

Recent call-ups

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The following players have been called up for the team within the last 12 months and are still available for selection.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Ezgi Çağlar (1993-07-03) 3 July 1993 (age 33) 15 0 Turkey Beşiktaş v.  Malta, 3 March 2026
DF Ümran Özev (1995-01-01) 1 January 1995 (age 31) 20 0 Turkey Fenerbahçe v.  Slovenia, 8 April 2025
DF Sejde Abrahamsson (1998-01-24) 24 January 1998 (age 28) 16 1 Belgium Club YLA v.  Slovenia, 8 April 2025
DF Yaşam Göksu (1995-09-25) 25 September 1995 (age 30) 11 0 Turkey Fenerbahçe v.  Kosovo, 28 October 2025
DF Didem Karagenç (1993-10-16) 16 October 1993 (age 32) 74 3 Turkey Beşiktaş
DF İlayda Cansu Kara (2005-04-28) 28 April 2005 (age 21) 2 0 United States Coastal Carolina v.  Malta, 3 March 2026
DF Selin Cemal (2006-12-27) 27 December 2006 (age 19) 0 0 England West Ham United
MF Meryem Cennet Çal (2000-07-12) 12 July 2000 (age 25) 24 1 Turkey Beşiktaş
FW Birgül Sadıkoğlu (1994-01-01) 1 January 1994 (age 32) 40 8 Turkey Trabzonspor v.  Malta, 3 March 2026

Notes
  • PRE = Preliminary squad/standby.
  • INJ = It is not part of the current squad due to injury.
  • COV = The player is not part of the current squad due to has been tested positive for COVID-19.
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Records

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Most capped players

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Ebru Topçu
  • Players in bold are still active.[13]

As of 3 June 2025

#NamePositionCareerCapsGoals
1 Ebru TopçuMF2013–present10125
2 Didem KaragençFW2010–11–present723
3 Yağmur UrazFW2006–20246628
4 Arzu KarabulutMF2011–present596
5 Esra ErolDF2001–2020558
Selda AkgözGK2015–present550
7 Bilgin DefterliFW1999–20145216
8 Gülbin HızDF2011–present505
9 Ece TürkoğluMF2016–present4914
10 Çiğdem BelciDF2006–2020480

Top goalscorers

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Yağmur Uraz
  • Bold indicates still active players.[13]

As of 3 June 2025

#NameCareerGoalsCapsRate
1 Yağmur Uraz2006–present28660.42
2 Ebru Topçu2013–present25101251010
3 Melahat Eryurt1995–200218390.46
4 Bilgin Defterli1999–201416520.31
5 Ece Türkoğlu2016–present14490.29
6 Seyhan Gündüz1997–200212300.4
7 Reyhan Şeker2006–201210210.48
8 Selen Altunkulak2017–20198120.67
Esra Erol2001–20208550.15
Birgül Sadıkoğlu2019–present8380.21
11 Melike Pekel2015–present7340.21

Hat-tricks

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PlayerClubAgainstGoalsResultPlaceDate
Melahat Eryurt Turkey Dinarsuspor Israel35–2 ISR, Netanya9 February 1998
Melahat Eryurt Turkey Dinarsuspor Israel38–0 ISR, Netanya11 February 1998
Yağmur Uraz Turkey Konak Belediyespor Georgia36–0 TUR, Trabzon26 February 2015
Melike Pekel France FC Metz Luxembourg39–1 FAR, Tórshavn8 April 2017
Selen Altunkulak France FC Metz Luxembourg39–1 FAR, Tórshavn8 April 2017

Centuriate goals

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RankPlayerClubAgainstResultPlaceDate
1stNazan BulutTurkey Gürtaşspor Hungary1–2 TUR, Istanbul9 May 1996
100thBilgin DefterliGermany FFC Brauweiler Pulheim Macedonia4–0 GEO, Tbilisi16 May 2009
200thBenan AltıntaşTurkey Fomget Gençlik ve Spor Albania1–2 ALB, Elbasan12 July 2021

Competitive record

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FIFA Women's World Cup

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FIFA Women's World Cup record Qualification record
YearResultGPWD*LGFGAGD QGPWD*LGFGAGD
China 1991Did not participate qual.Declined participation
Sweden 1995 qual.
United States 1999Did not qualify qual.6123615−9
United States 2003 qual.81071027−17
China 2007Did not participate qual.Declined participation
Germany 2011Did not qualify qual.82151023−13
Canada 2015 qual.104061231−19
France 2019 qual.3201133+10
AustraliaNew Zealand 2023 qual.10316926–17
Brazil 2027To be determined qual.To be determined
Costa RicaJamaicaMexicoUnited States 2031To be determined qual.To be determined
United Kingdom 2035To be determined qual.To be determined
Total 451342860125−65
*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Olympic Games

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Summer Olympics record
YearResultGPWD*LGFGAGD
United States 1996Did not qualify
Australia 2000
Greece 2004
China 2008
United Kingdom 2012
Brazil 2016
Japan 2020
France 2024Unable to qualify
United States 2028To be determined
Australia 2032
Total
*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

UEFA Women's Championship

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UEFA Women's Championship record Qualifying record
YearResultPldWD*LGFGAGD QPldWD*LGFGAGDP/RRnk
1984 Did not participate qual. Declined participation
Norway 1987 qual.
West Germany 1989 qual.
Denmark 1991 qual.
Italy 1993 qual.
Germany 1995 qual.
Norway Sweden 1997 Did not qualify qual. 6006121−20
Germany 2001 qual. 62131320−7
England 2005 Did not participate qual. Declined participation
Finland 2009 Did not qualify qual. 3201112+9
Sweden 2013 qual. 10019448−44
Netherlands 2017 qual. 8116324−21
England 2022 qual. 10127928−19
Switzerland 2025 qual. 8314911−2Same position[a]24th
Total 43653241143–10224th
*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

UEFA Women's Nations League

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As of 25 February 2025

UEFA Women's Nations League record
Season Division Group Pos Pld W D L GF GA P/R RK
2023–24 C 2 1st6600160Rise33rd
2025 B 2 (1)8404107Same position26th
Total 14100426733rd and 26th
Rise Promoted at end of season
Same positionNo movement at end of season
FallRelegated at end of season
*Participated in promotion/relegation play-offs
(1)Tournament in progress

FIFA World Rankings

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Last update 13 July 2021.[14]

  Best Ranking    Worst Ranking    Best Mover    Worst Mover  

Turkey's FIFA world rankings
Rank Year Games
Played
Won Lost Drawn Best Worst
Rank Move Rank Move
 6920212200 69Increase 372Decrease 0

See also

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Notes

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  1. From Euro 2025 onwards a new qualifying format was introduced, linked to the Women's Nations League where teams are divided into leagues with promotion/relegation between the leagues at the end of each cycle.

    References

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    1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". 16 June 2026. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
    2. "Türkiye". FIFA.
    3. "Turkish Football Federation". UEFA.
    4. 1 2 "Kadın Futbolu" (in Turkish). TFF. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
    5. "Özel Maç Kadınlar Milli – Türkiye 0–8 Romanya" (in Turkish). Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
    6. "Avrupa Şampiyonası 1997 Grup Eleme – Macaristan 6–0 Türkiye" (in Turkish). Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
    7. "Dünya Şampiyonası 1999 Grup Eleme – Gürcistan 0–1 Türkiye" (in Turkish). Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
    8. "Özel Maç – Türkiye 1–12 Almanya" (in Turkish). Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
    9. "Avruğpa Şampiyonası 2008 Grup Eleme Türkiye 9–0 Gürcistan" (in Turkish). Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
    10. 1 2 "Kadınlar Milli – A Milli" (in Turkish). Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
    11. "Türkiye'de kadın futbolu daha işin başında". Deutsche Welle (in Turkish). 12 July 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
    12. "Turkey [Women] » Historical results". World Football. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
    13. 1 2 "Türkiye Kadın A Milli" (in Turkish). Türkiye Futbol federasyonu. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
    14. "Turkey Women's Ranking". www.fifa.com. FIFA. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
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