The history of the Turkey national football team started in 1923. In 1950 Turkey qualified for the World Cup in Brazil, where the team left Syria far behind but then had to withdraw due to financial problems. In 1954 Turkey qualified for The World Cup, having beaten Spain in play-off, then the team lost to West Germany 1-4 and won South Korea by a head 7-0. Turkey lost to West Germany 2-7 in play-off.
The 1960s were unsuccessful for the Turkey national team, in spite of good performance in European competitions. In 1984 and 1987 the team suffered a major setback, having lost to England twice 0-8. The team qualified for Euro’96 but failed to score a goal in all three games.
In 2002 World Cup Turkey showed increase in level of play and finished third, beating Senegal 1-0 in the quarter-final losing to Brazil 0-1in semifinal and snatching a win over South Korea 3-2.
Turkey qualified for Euro’2008 after winning Norway 2-1 and finishing second in the qualifying group. At the main tournament the team was beaten by Portugal 0-2 but won Switzerland 2-1 and Czech Republic. Turkey played against Croatia in quarterfinal and won on penalties 3-1 but got bronze, having lost to Germany 2-3.
Turkey did not qualify for 2010 World Cup and for European Championship 2012.
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