Arda Güler is back in the Türkiye squad for tonight's Nations League meeting with Belgium at İzmir's Gürsel Aksel Stadium. Per CNN Türk Spor, the Real Madrid playmaker has completed his card suspension, as has Barış Alper Yılmaz. Both are available for Sergen Yalçın's first game in charge.
The lineup question is less simple than the squad list. Abdülkerim Bardakcı misses out after a card received against Italy, and Aral Şimşir is ruled out by injury. Kerem Aktürkoğlu was left out of the Belgium and France preliminary squads. Kenan Yıldız is not in the camp after surgery on a fractured fifth metatarsal, with his rehabilitation being handled by Juventus in Italy.
That leaves Türkiye's midfield and forward line as the place where Yalçın can show his intent. Güler is listed in the probable XI alongside Oğuz Aydın and Yunus Akgün, a setup that puts a creative player in the space behind the strikers rather than in a deeper controlling role. Whether Yalçın uses that structure or prefers a more physical shape will matter more than any single name.
The stakes are plain. Türkiye have won one of their last seven matches, and they have not yet picked up a point in this group. A defeat would make the rest of the campaign harder to plan around, so the first team Yalçın chooses will be read as both a statement of identity and a practical response to a long list of absences.
