Australia first up as Arda Guler leads Turkey in World Cup return

Young attacking midfielder Arda Guler will lead a hungry Turkey side as they make their return to the World Cup finals for the first time in more than two decades against an Australia squad brimming with youthful vigour in their Group D opener at Vancouver's BC Place on Saturday.

Despite strong showings in the European Championship in recent years, Turkey have not played at a World Cup since making the semi-finals in 2002, and though the 21-year-old Guler was not even born back then, he will bear the attacking hopes of his soccer-mad nation on his shoulders.

“He has talent, intuition, reading of the game; he knows when to slow down, when to go vertical, and he knows how to score. He has an innocent face, but he is very clever," Turkey coach Vincenzo Montella said.

"He has talent, plays at a high level, and handles a lot of pressure.”

INJURY SCARE

While Guler's shoulders may be broad enough to carry that burden, there are worries over his physical fitness after he sustained a hamstring injury late in his club season with Real Madrid that caused him to miss the run-in.

Appearances against North Macedonia and Venezuela put some of those fears to rest, but Guler's task will not be an easy one as Turkey take on an Australian squad that made it to the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where they lost to eventual winners Argentina.

Australia have rung the changes since and could have 17 World Cup debutants at this tournament, including two uncapped players in Japan-based striker Tete Yengi, 25, and 22-year-old attacker Cristian Volpato, who switched allegiance from Italy to Australia just ahead of the tournament.

"I think ​Turkey's got a lot of pressure as well because they haven't been to a major tournament World Cup since 2002," Australian defender Milos Degenek told reporters ​ahead of Saturday's match in Vancouver.

"There's a lot hope ​on them and a lot pressure, but we're ready for that definitely."

With co-hosts the U.S. and Paraguay also in their group, both of these young sides will be keen to get off to a good start on Saturday, with Australia coach Tony Popovic saying he didn't think the relative inexperience of his players would affect them.

"What ⁠we have ​is a lot of young exuberance, a lot of exciting talent, ​which is the start of a new cycle," he said.

(Reporting by Philip O'Connor; additional reporting by Ian Ransom and Ece Toksabay, editing by Ed Osmond)