Türkiye’s national football team suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat against Mexico in their first-ever meeting, a physical friendly at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Despite dominating large stretches of the match and outshooting Mexico by a 3-to-1 margin, Vincenzo Montella’s men lacked finishing precision – a shortcoming that proved costly.
First-half slip
Mexico’s Orbelin Pineda netted the lone goal in the 45th minute, capitalizing on a defensive lapse following a long throw-in from Jesus Gallardo.
Luis Romo teed up Pineda near the penalty spot, and the midfielder calmly slotted it past Turkish keeper Berke Özer to make it 1-0.
Türkiye had shown promise earlier.
Midfielder Kaan Ayhan and İsmail Yüksek each tested Mexico’s Luis Malagon with powerful strikes in the opening 20 minutes.
A disallowed goal for offside in the 24th minute gave Mexico an early scare, and Irfan Can Kahveci came close with a thunderous shot just before the break.
Second-half push comes up short
Both teams struggled to create clear-cut chances after halftime.
Mexico nearly doubled their lead in the 65th minute when Cesar Huerta’s strike clipped the post. Türkiye’s best opportunity came 11 minutes from time when Kenan Yıldız squared the ball for Kerem Aktürkoğlu, whose quick-fire shot whisked just wide.
Türkiye couldn’t find an equalizer, closing out their U.S. training camp with a loss after previously beating the United States 2-1.
Debutants and development
Two young names wrote their first pages in the national team’s story. Defender Yasin Özcan, 18, started and played 45 minutes, while 20-year-old midfielder Demir Ege Tıknaz came on in the 77th minute.
Özcan, who completed the season with Kasımpaşa, is set to join Premier League side Aston Villa. Tıknaz, on Beşiktaş’s books, spent last season on loan at Portugal’s Rio Ave.
Montella: “We didn’t deserve to lose”
Postgame, head coach Vincenzo Montella praised his team’s effort and stressed that the result didn’t reflect their performance.
“We created more, took three times as many shots, but our accuracy was poor,” Montella said. “We made a single mistake when everyone was behind the ball, and they punished us. That’s football.”
Montella, who has led Türkiye from 40th to 27th in the FIFA rankings, said the camp was a success in terms of building squad depth and spirit. “Everyone played their role. I saw fight, team cohesion, and progress – that’s more important in this phase,” he said.
He emphasized the physical challenge of playing a mid-season team like Mexico while many Turkish players were coming off 50-game seasons and limited rest.
“Arda in No. 10?”
Asked whether Arda Güler would continue wearing the coveted No. 10 shirt, Montella brushed it off: “I’ve made mistakes before with shirt numbers – that’s not something I want to get into again.”
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