Lilian Thuram comments on Turkey for the 2026 World Cup: No limits

Soccer Former French national soccer player Lilian Thuram said that she expects Turkey to go far in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

In a statement to AA correspondent, Thuram evaluated the World Cup, which will start tomorrow hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico.

Evaluating the chances of the A National Football Team in the tournament, Thuram said, “Of course I know Hakan Çalhanoğlu, who plays for Inter because my children played in Italy. He is a very strong footballer, one of the best midfielders in the world. There is also Arda Güler from Real Madrid and Kenan Yıldız, who is considered the best player in Juventus. He is a very talented young player and he can cause problems for any defender. There are some really good young players in the team. That is why I hope Turkey will go very, very far.”

– “As long as you have a good team, you can go very, very far”

Lilian Thuram stated that she believes that the third place achieved by the Turkish national footballers in the 2002 FIFA World Cup will provide confidence to the national footballers.

Emphasizing that it is always difficult to predict how far a team can go in the World Cup, Thuram said, “As long as you have a good team, you can go very, very far. Turkey has already managed to go very far in the past by finishing third in the World Cup. This creates a belief among the players in the national team that you can go even further than third place. Then we can say ‘there is no limit to success for Turkey’.”

– “France is a very good team”

Thuram stated that France, which has come to the forefront with the generation it has caught in recent years, has a good team.

“I think the coaches in France have done a very good job when you look at the generations that have emerged recently. France is a very good team, but you have to be very careful. I think having very good players doesn’t mean you can win the World Cup.”