Turkey women's national football team

Turkey
Nickname(s)Crescent Stars (Ay-Yıldızlılar)
AssociationTurkish Football Federation
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachNecla Güngör Kıragası
CaptainDidem Karagenç
Most capsEbru Topçu (77)
Top scorerYağmur Uraz (28)
FIFA codeTUR
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 57 1 (12 June 2025)[1]
Highest54 (March 2017)
Lowest75 (December 2007)
First international
  0–8 Romania 
(Istanbul, Turkey; 8 September 1995)
Biggest win
  9–0 Georgia 
(Adana, Turkey; 23 November 2006)
Biggest defeat
  1–12 Germany 
(Istanbul, Turkey; 14 February 1999)

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]

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

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

Nicknames

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

Home stadium

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

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

Legend

  Win   Draw   Lose   Void or Postponed   Fixture

2024

25 February Friendly   1–2  Greece Manavgat, Turkey
15:30
  • Uraz 12'
Report Stadium: Emirhan Sport Complex
28 February Friendly Romania  0–1   Manavgat, Turkey
Report Abrahamsson 54' Stadium: Emirhan Sport Complex
9 April Euro 2025 qualifying   2–1  Hungary Istanbul
Türkoğlu 80' Cin 87' Report Csányi 45+1' Stadium: Pendik Stadyumu
Referee: Katarzyna Lisiecka-Sęk (Poland)
31 May Euro 2025 qualifying   1–0  Azerbaijan Erzincan
Topçu 43' (pen.) Report Stadium: Erzincan 13 Şubat Şehir Stadium
16 July UEFA Euro 2025 qualifying Hungary  1–4   Győr
Kaján 66' Şeker 14'
Keskin 55'
Sadıkoğlu 51'
Hançar 79'
Stadium: Gyirmóti Stadion
25 October 2024 UEFA Euro 2025 qualifying play-offs   1–1  Ukraine Esenler Stadium, Istanbul
17:00 (18:00 UTC+3)
Report Attendance: 1,688[12]
Referee: Henrikke Nervik (Norway)
29 October 2024 UEFA Euro 2025 qualifying play-offs Ukraine  2–0   Stadionul Zimbru, Chișinău (Moldova)[note 1]
17:00 (18:00 UTC+2)
Report Attendance: 438[14]
Referee: Catarina Campos (Portugal)

Ukraine won 3–1 on aggregate and qualified for the second round.

2025

21 February UEFA Nations League - B2 Republic of Ireland  1–0   Dublin, Republic of Ireland
22:30 Carusa 45+3' Report Stadium: Tallaght Stadium
Referee: Réka Molnár (HUN)
Noemi Hegedus-Barath (HUN)
Nikolett Bizder (HUN)
25 February UEFA Nations League - B2   1–0  Greece Istanbul, Turkey
18:30 Keskin 33' Report Stadium: Pendik Stadium
Referee: Miriama Bočková (SVK),
Miroslava Pastoreková (SVK),
Zuzana Valentová (SVK)
4 April UEFA Nations League - B2 Slovenia  3–0   Ljubljana, Slovenia
17:30 Kolbl 29'
Kramžar 36'
Prašnikar 65' (pen.)
Report Stadium: Športni park
Referee: Victoria Beyer (FRA)
Jennifer Maubacq (FRA)
Bérangère Jourdain (FRA)
8 April UEFA Nations League - B2   0–1  Slovenia Sivas, Turkey
19:00 Report Kramžar 62' Stadium: Yeni 4 Eylül Stadium
Referee: Fabienne Michel GER
Anne Uerstfeĺd GER
Silke Fritzius
GER
30 May UEFA Nations League - B2   1–2  Republic of Ireland Turkey
20:00 Hançar 49' Report Şeker 80' (o.g.)
Murphy 89'
Stadium: Esenler Stadium
Referee: Kristina Georgieva (BUL)
Valeva (BUL)
Dumbalakova (BUL)
3 June UEFA Nations League - B2 Greece  0–1   Heraklion, Crete, Greece
20:00 Report Hançar 42' Stadium: Theodoros Vardinogiannis Stadium
Referee: Vanderstichel (FRA)
Brassard (FRA)
Boudina (FRA)

All-time records

The following table shows Turkey women's all-time international record As of 17 July 2023:[15]

Period Pl W D L GF GA
1995–2023 151 53 18 80 236 367

Matches by year

As of 3 June 2025[10]

Year Total Official Friendly
1995 4 2 2
1996 6 4 2
1997 5 4 1
1998 8 6 2
1999 6 3 3
2000 3 3 0
2001 7 4 3
2002 6 4 2
2006 3 3 0
2007 2 2 0
2008 5 5 0
2009 5 5 0
2010 6 6 0
2011 9 5 4
2012 5 5 0
2013 3 3 0
2014 7 7 0
2015 9 5 4
2016 3 3 0
2017 7 3 4
2018 4 0 4
2019 10 5 5
2020 6 5 1
2021 9 5 4
2022 9 5 4
2023 10 6 4
2024 10 8 2
2025 6 6 0
Total 173 122 51

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff

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

Manager history

As of 29 October 2024
Name Period Pld W D L GF GA GD Win % Ref
Atılay Canel 2002 2 0 0 2 3 7 −4 0 [1]
Hamdi Aslan 2006–2010 21 12 3 6 56 33 +23 57.1 [2]
Yücel Uyar 2011 8 1 2 5 8 25 −17 12.5 [3]
Nur Mustafa Gülen 2011–2012 4 0 0 4 1 16 −15 0 [4]
2013–2014 8 3 0 5 9 23 −14 37.5
Ogün Temizkanoğlu 2012 2 0 0 2 1 13 −12 0 [5]
Suat Okyar 2014 2 1 0 1 3 8 −5 50
Talat Tuncel 2015–2019 33 12 5 16 51 65 −14 36.4 [6]
Necla Güngör Kıragası 2020– 50 29 6 15 93 57 +36 58

Players

Current squad

The following 26 players were called up for the 2025 UEFA Women's Nations League matches in April

  • Caps and goals are correct as of 3 June 2025 after the match against Greece.
No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Selda Akgöz (1993-06-09) 9 June 1993 55 0 ABB Fomget
12 1GK Ezgi Çağlar (1993-07-03) 3 July 1993 15 0 Beşiktaş
23 1GK Gamze Nur Yaman (1999-04-25) 25 April 1999 14 0 Galatasaray

2 2DF Ümran Özev (1995-01-01) 1 January 1995 20 0 Fenerbahçe
2 2DF Yaşam Göksu (1995-09-25) 25 September 1995 10 0 Fenerbahçe
3 2DF Didem Karagenç (1993-10-16) 16 October 1993 72 3 Beşiktaş
4 2DF Eda Karataş (1995-06-15) 15 June 1995 28 0 Galatasaray
5 2DF Sejde Abrahamsson (1998-01-24) 24 January 1998 16 1 Club YLA
15 2DF Kezban Tağ (1993-09-17) 17 September 1993 21 1 Beşiktaş
17 2DF İlayda Civelek (1998-07-06) 6 July 1998 42 1 Beşiktaş
21 2DF Gülbin Hız (1994-06-11) 11 June 1994 49 5 ABB Fomget
22 2DF Fatma Şakar (1994-03-26) 26 March 1994 4 0 Union Berlin

6 3MF Meryem Cennet Çal (2000-07-12) 12 July 2000 22 0 Beşiktaş
7 3MF Miray Cin (2001-07-05) 5 July 2001 32 3 MSV Duisburg
8 3MF Melike Pekel (1995-04-14) 14 April 1995 34 7 St. Pölten
9 3MF Arzu Karabulut (1991-01-30) 30 January 1991 59 5 Galatasaray
10 3MF Ebru Topçu (1996-08-27) 27 August 1996 90 23 Galatasaray
14 3MF Derya Arhan (1999-01-25) 25 January 1999 19 3 Fenerbahçe
16 3MF Ece Türkoğlu (1999-04-14) 14 April 1999 49 14 Fenerbahçe
18 3MF Başak İçinözbebek (1994-02-13) 13 February 1994 2 0 ABB Fomget
20 3MF Elif Keskin (2002-01-12) 12 January 2002 43 6 Beşiktaş

11 4FW Kader Hançar (1999-11-12) 12 November 1999 29 8 Beylerbeyi
13 4FW Melike Öztürk (2001-04-01) 1 April 2001 10 0 Fatih Vatan
19 4FW Busem Şeker (1998-07-19) 19 July 1998 44 5 Fenerbahçe

Recent call-ups

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 Göknur Güleryüz (2003-02-04) 4 February 2003 1 0 Fenerbahçe v.  Hungary,16 July 2024

DF Yaşam Göksu (1995-09-25) 25 September 1995 10 0 Fenerbahçe v.  Hungary, 9 April 2024
DF Cansu Nur Kaya (2000-02-28) 28 February 2000 8 0 Fatih Vatan Spor v.  Lithuania, 26 September 2023
DF Ece Tekmen (2002-02-23) 23 February 2002 15 0 Beşiktaş v.  Lithuania, 26 September 2023
DF Büşra Kuru (2001-10-24) 24 October 2001 14 1 SC Sand v.  Azerbaijan, 4 June 2024
DF Narin Yakut (2004-04-26) 26 April 2004 2 0 Fatih Karagümrük v.  Azerbaijan, 4 June 2024
DF İlayda Cansu Kara Fenerbahçe v.  Hungary,16 July 2024
DF Kezban Tağ Beşiktaş v.  Hungary,16 July 2024

MF Emine Ecem Esen (1994-05-03) 3 May 1994 38 2 Galatasaray v.  Hungary, 9 April 2024
MF Rojin Polat (2004-08-20) 20 August 2004 1 0 Sydney Uni SFC v.  Romania, 28 February 2024
MF Başak İçinözbebek (1994-02-13) 13 February 1994 0 0 Fomget GSK v.  Azerbaijan, 4 June 2024

FW Zeynap Kerimoğlu (2003-05-13) 13 May 2003 4 0 Fenerbahçe v.  Romania, 28 February 2024
FW Neslihan Demirdögen (2002-09-03) 3 September 2002 2 0 Fatih Vatan Spor v.  Georgia, 5 December 2023
FW Yağmur Uraz (1990-02-19) 19 February 1990 64 28 Fenerbahçe v.  Azerbaijan, 4 June 2024
FW Zeynep Kerimoğlu (2003-05-13) 13 May 2003 4 0 Fenerbahçe v.  Azerbaijan, 4 June 2024

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.

Records

Most capped players

  • Players in bold are still active.[16]

As of 3 June 2025

# Name Position Career Caps Goals
1 Ebru Topçu MF 2013–present 90 23
2 Didem Karagenç FW 2010–11–present 72 3
3 Yağmur Uraz FW 2006–2024 66 28
4 Arzu Karabulut MF 2011–present 59 6
5 Esra Erol DF 2001–2020 55 8
Selda Akgöz GK 2015–present 55 0
7 Bilgin Defterli FW 1999–2014 52 16
8 Gülbin Hız DF 2011–present 50 5
9 Ece Türkoğlu MF 2016–present 49 14
10 Çiğdem Belci DF 2006–2020 48 0

Top goalscorers

  • Bold indicates still active players.[16]

As of 3 June 2025

# Name Career Goals Caps Rate
1 Yağmur Uraz 2006–present 28 66 0.42
2 Ebru Topçu 2013–present 23 90 0.26
3 Melahat Eryurt 1995–2002 18 39 0.46
4 Bilgin Defterli 1999–2014 16 52 0.31
5 Ece Türkoğlu 2016–present 14 49 0.29
6 Seyhan Gündüz 1997–2002 12 30 0.4
7 Reyhan Şeker 2006–2012 10 21 0.48
8 Selen Altunkulak 2017–2019 8 12 0.67
Esra Erol 2001–2020 8 55 0.15
Birgül Sadıkoğlu 2019–present 8 38 0.21
11 Melike Pekel 2015–present 7 34 0.21

Hat-tricks

Player Club Against Goals Result Place Date
Melahat Eryurt Dinarsuspor  Israel 3 5–2 ISR, Netanya 9 February 1998
Melahat Eryurt Dinarsuspor  Israel 3 8–0 ISR, Netanya 11 February 1998
Yağmur Uraz Konak Belediyespor  Georgia 3 6–0 TUR, Trabzon 26 February 2015
Melike Pekel FC Metz  Luxembourg 3 9–1 FAR, Tórshavn 8 April 2017
Selen Altunkulak FC Metz  Luxembourg 3 9–1 FAR, Tórshavn 8 April 2017

Centuriate goals

Rank Player Club Against Result Place Date
1st Nazan Bulut Gürtaşspor  Hungary 1–2 TUR, Istanbul 9 May 1996
100th Bilgin Defterli FFC Brauweiler Pulheim  Macedonia 4–0 GEO, Tbilisi 16 May 2009
200th Benan Altıntaş Fomget Gençlik ve Spor  Albania 1–2 ALB, Elbasan 12 July 2021

Competitive record

FIFA Women's World Cup

FIFA Women's World Cup record Qualification record
Year Result GP W D* L GF GA GD Q GP W D* L GF GA GD
1991 Did not participate qual. Declined participation
1995 qual.
1999 Did not qualify qual. 6 1 2 3 6 15 −9
2003 qual. 8 1 0 7 10 27 −17
2007 Did not participate qual. Declined participation
2011 Did not qualify qual. 8 2 1 5 10 23 −13
2015 qual. 10 4 0 6 12 31 −19
2019 qual. 3 2 0 1 13 3 +10
2023 qual. 10 3 1 6 9 26 –17
2027 To be determined qual. To be determined
2031 To be determined qual. To be determined
2035 To be determined qual. To be determined
Total 45 13 4 28 60 125 −65
*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Olympic Games

Summer Olympics record
Year Result GP W D* L GF GA GD
1996 Did not qualify
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024 Unable to qualify
2028 To be determined
2032
Total
*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

UEFA Women's Championship

UEFA Women's Championship record Qualifying record
Year Result Pld W D* L GF GA GD Q Pld W D* L GF GA GD P/R Rnk
1984 Did not participate qual. Declined participation
1987 qual.
1989 qual.
1991 qual.
1993 qual.
1995 qual.
1997 Did not qualify qual. 6 0 0 6 1 21 −20
2001 qual. 6 2 1 3 13 20 −7
2005 Did not participate qual. Declined participation
2009 Did not qualify qual. 3 2 0 1 11 2 +9
2013 qual. 10 0 1 9 4 48 −44
2017 qual. 8 1 1 6 3 24 −21
2022 qual. 10 1 2 7 9 28 −19
2025 qual. 8 3 1 4 9 11 −2 [a] 24th
Total 43 6 5 32 41 143 –102 24th
*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

UEFA Women's Nations League

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 1st 6 6 0 0 16 0 33rd
2025 B 2 (1) 2 1 0 1 1 1 0
Total 8 7 0 1 17 1 33rd
Promoted at end of season
No movement at end of season
Relegated at end of season
* Participated in promotion/relegation play-offs
(1) Tournament in progress

FIFA World Rankings

Last update 13 July 2021.[17]

  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
  69 2021 2 2 0 0 69 3 72 0

See also

Notes

  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.
  1. ^ Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine are required to play their home matches at neutral venues until further notice.[13]

References

  1. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 12 June 2025. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  2. ^ FIFA.com. "Türkiye".
  3. ^ UEFA.com. "Turkish Football Federation".
  4. ^ a b "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. ^ a b "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 v Ukraine" (JSON). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 25 October 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  13. ^ "Decisions from today's extraordinary UEFA Executive Committee meeting". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  14. ^ "Ukraine v Turkey" (JSON). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 29 October 2024. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  15. ^ "Turkey [Women] » Historical results". World Football. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  16. ^ a b "Türkiye Kadın A Milli" (in Turkish). Türkiye Futbol federasyonu. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  17. ^ "Turkey Women's Ranking". www.fifa.com. FIFA. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.