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Turkey coach Vincenzo Montella made six changes to his starting lineup for the away match against Italy in the fourth round of UEFA Nations League A Group 1 fixtures, compared with the previous game against Belgium. Two changes were forced by the suspensions of Arda Güler and Barış Alper Yılmaz. Ozan Kabak, Eren Elmalı, Salih Özcan, İrfan Can Kahveci, Aral Şimşir and Yunus Akgün came into the starting side.

Merih Demiral, Kerem Aktürkoğlu, Oğuz Aydın and Bartuğ Elmaz moved to the bench. Şimşir and Kahveci made their first appearances in the League A campaign after neither featured in the opening three matches. For Şimşir, it was his competitive debut for Turkey and his second senior international appearance, following a friendly against North Macedonia. Kahveci earned his 49th cap. The injured Can Uzun was among those left out of the matchday squad.

Turkish supporters filled almost all of their allocated section, with Turkish residents of Bologna and nearby cities joined by students studying in Italy. Turkey’s ambassador in Rome, Elif Çomoğlu Ülgen, and its consul general in Milan, Mehmet Özöktem, also attended the match.

Key Takeaways

• Montella changed six starters from the previous match against Belgium.
• Arda Güler and Barış Alper Yılmaz missed the Italy match through suspension.
• Aral Şimşir made his competitive debut for Turkey on his second senior appearance.