Euro 2016 Status Report: Turkey

After this week’s packed schedule, with each country playing twice, there are only two friendly slots remaining before the 23-man squads have to be announced on May 31 – so countries are running out of time to test new players.

We have drawn on our extensive European network of websites to bring you our expert insight into how the Euro 2016 contenders are shaping up. Here we go with Eurosport's Meric Gursoy and his breakdown of the Turkey squad.

[RELATED: Euro 2016 Status Report: England]

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Thursday, March 24: Sweden (H) - Turkey won 2-1.
Tuesday, March 29: Austria (A)

Midfield rotation: Turkey has too many talents in midfield. Arda Turan, Hakan Calhanoglu, Oguzhan Ozyakup, Selcuk Inan, Nuri Sahin, Mehmet Topal, Ozan Tufan, Yunus Malli and the list goes on. It’s really mystery as to how Turkey’s will line-up at this summer’s tournament. However, they do not have an experienced striker, except Burak Yilmaz. So there is a possibility Fatih Terim might field a striker-less 6 in midfield in some matches.

Weird absences: Fenerbahce goalkeeper Volkan Demirel (62 caps) and Bayer Leverkusen defender Omer Toprak (23 caps) have not been included in Turkey’s most recent squad.

Demirel had a dispute with some Turkish fans during the Euro 2016 qualifiers before the Kazakhstan match. Since then, Terim has refrained form calling him up again.

Toprak, on the other hand, was involved in some kind of dispute with Hakan Calhanoglu and Besiktas winger Gokhan Tore. The latter two continue to be picked forTurkey, while Toprak seems to have fallen down the pecking order.

Gokhan Tore will definitely not be included in the Euro 2016 squad due to a two-match suspension after his red card during their final qualifying match against Iceland.

Fatih Terim has said the most difficult group is their one, which includes Spain, Czech Republic and Croatia. However, he has drawn confidence from that fact that Turkey have not lost any single match for one and a half years and is bullish that they can get through the group.

Turkey’s strength lies in their midfield. So, the choices for midfield will determine how Terim sets up the rest of the team. Terim generally uses 4-5-1 (4-2-3-1) system, but we would also see 4-6-0 formation.

Gokhan Tore and Caner Erkin’s roles at full-back look pretty set - they offer Turkey’s firmest threat. Hakan Balta and Serdar Aziz have started the majoirty of their Euro 2016 qualifiers but Serdar isn’t too experienced. Hakan will likely start on the left of the central defensive two but his partner could also be Mehmet Topal, who is actually a defensive midfielder. If Mehmet moves to defence, that will open space in midfield for Ozan Tufan or Nuri Sahin, as a partner of Selcuk Inan. Arda Turan, Hakan Calhanoglu and Oguzhan Ozyakup’s places seem secure.

Up front, Turkey does have one quality and experienced striker: Burak Yilmaz. Besiktas striker Cenk Tosun is also young and good player but he’s yet to play in a important role - his cause will have been helped by his brace in the 2-1 win against Sweden. We expect to see Burak Yilmaz as a striker in most situations but 4-6-0 is also a possibility, with Arda Turan playing false nine.

Goalkeepers: Volkan Babacan (Basaksehir), Onur Kıvrak (Trabzonspor), Harun Tekin (Bursaspor) Muammer Zülfikar Yıldırım (Mersin İdmanyurdu)

Defenders: Gokhan Gonul (Fenerbahce), Sener Ozbayraklı (Fenerbahce), Hakan Balta (Galatasaray), Ahmet Çalık (Gençlerbirliği), Çağlar Söyüncü (Altınordu), Caner Erkin (Fenerbahce), İsmail Koybasi (Besiktas)

Midfielders: Mehmet Topal (Fenerbahce), Kerim Frei (Besiktas), Volkan Sen (Fenerbahce), Alper Potuk (Fenerbahce), Arda Turan (FC Barcelona), Hakan Calhanoglu (Bayer Leverkusen), Nuri Sahin (Borussia Dortmund), Selcuk İnan (Galatasaray), Oguzhan Ozyakup (Besiktas), Ozan Tufan (Fenerbahce), Olcay Sahan (Besiktas), Olcay Sahan (Besiktas), Yasin Oztekin (Galatasaray), Yunus Malli (Mainz)

Forwards: Burak Yilmaz (Beijing Guoan FC), Cenk Tosun (Besiktas)