Montella ‘not given the chance to resign’ after Turkiye World Cup failure

Turkish Football Federation President Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu assured Italian coach Vincenzo Montella would not resign or be fired after the 2026 World Cup debacle.

While Turkiye had been tipped to be one of the dark horses for the competition in the USA, Canada and Mexico, they were a huge disappointment.

They lost the opening match of the tournament 2-0 to Australia, then suffered a 1-0 defeat to a Paraguay side that was down to 10 men for the entire second half.

This makes the result of the final group game against the USA entirely futile, as the squad including Kenan Yildiz and Hakan Calhanoglu will be eliminated.

Montella under fire as Turkiye coach

DORTMUND, GERMANY – JUNE 18: Vincenzo Montella, Head Coach of Turkiye, gestures during the UEFA EURO 2024 group stage match between Turkiye and Georgia at Football Stadium Dortmund on June 18, 2024 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

There have been calls for Montella to resign or be fired in the wake of these dismal results, despite the fact he only recently signed a new contract that runs to July 2028.

However, Turkish Football Federation President Haciosmanoglu spoke to reporters before today’s training session and calmed the waters.

“Everyone’s heart aches, because these were not the ambitions we had going into this World Cup, but the 85 million in our beloved nation should know that everyone worked hard here and is just as saddened as they are.

“Let’s not forget it was ‘Our Boys’ who brought us here. Most of them are around 20 years old, they will perhaps play in three or four more tournaments over the coming years. They are our children and we need to support them.

TURIN, ITALY – MAY 17: Kenan Yildiz of Juventus FC during the Serie A match between Juventus FC and ACF Fiorentina at Allianz Stadium on May 17, 2026 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Chris Ricco/Getty Images)

“We will stand by our coach, and we will stand by our players. This is not a club team, and even there failures occur due to a lack of consistency. You can’t get rid of 15 players and bring in 15 more, or change coach for another.

“For the last two days, the media has been writing the names of various coaches, but those who know our character must realise we never replace those who we’ve met along the way with those we find.

“If this coaching staff and these players achieved successes in two years, we will stand by them.”

LEIPZIG, GERMANY – JULY 02: Vincenzo Montella, Head Coach of Turkiye, celebrates after the team’s victory in the UEFA EURO 2024 round of 16 match between Austria and Turkiye at Football Stadium Leipzig on July 02, 2024 in Leipzig, Germany. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Montella took the Turkiye national team job in September 2023 and has overall been fairly successful, taking them to the quarter-finals of EURO 2024 and then qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.

When President Haciosmanoglu was asked if Montella’s resignation had ever been discussed, he cut short any conversation.

“I never gave him a chance to say it. We didn’t have that kind of conversation, and there’s no need to give him that chance to say it anyway. If you’re the President, you need to understand the psychology of both the player and the coach.

“You must support them, not drag them into this situation.”

The overall record on the Turkiye bench for Italian Montella is of 20 victories, five draws and 10 defeats.