'They may be afraid of us' Orkun Kokcu and Kerem Akturkoglu's World Cup words!

Ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Orkun Kökçü and Kerem Aktürkoğlu answered questions at the press conference.

'WE ARE AWARE OF WHAT IS EXPECTED OF US'

Kerem Aktürkoğlu: It is a beautiful camp. We are aware that our whole country is waiting for this moment. I am not injured, thank God we are over it. We are also aware of what is expected of us. We are preparing in the best way. I hope it will be a very good tournament for our country. We want to represent our country as a team and as a game. We are here after 24 years, we grew up with the stories of our older brothers being third in the world. It was the dream of all of us. It is a great pride to have achieved this, to have the opportunity to represent our country in the World Cup. Just coming here and participating should not be an achievement for a country like ours. After the European Championship, we are here with our football and as a team we reflect our own character and football on the field in every way. And this reflects positively on the results. He came to this tournament with a very good form graph.

'I FEEL COMFORTABLE AS A STRIKER'

After 24 years, we are aware of what our country and our fans expect. To meet these expectations, no matter who is on the field, 85 million will be behind him. Whoever is on the field will represent the national jersey in the best way possible. I hope we can take our country to the place it deserves and show it to the whole world. I am a winger but I play as a striker in the national team with coach Montella. I have no complaints, I feel good. I think I contribute positively to the team and I think our coach thinks so too. It's important to contribute no matter who plays, and I'm happy when I contribute to the team. I feel comfortable and good as a striker.

'PLAYING WITH ORKUN IS A PLEASURE'

1 year has passed, I'm just realizing it. Orkun and I joined the Club World Cup camp for Benfica right after the national team, it really wore us out. It was a good year with Orkun, we returned to our country with a good season. We continue to write a story with the national team. We want to end this story successfully. The World Cup is very important for our country. We wrote a beautiful story in the European Championship, I hope we will write the same story in the World Cup. It is a great pleasure to play with Orkun, I love him very much."

'THEY CAN BE AFRAID OF US!

Orkun Kökçü: "The atmosphere of friends is like a family atmosphere, we are very good. Everyone gets along well. This is reflected in the training. We are preparing in a very fun way. We are ready. We will prepare even better. We are looking forward to the first match. You hear the stories of 2002; my father, my uncles tell them. Of course I couldn't experience it, we participated in the tournament 24 years later. Because I was born and raised in the Netherlands, in 2010 the Netherlands reached the final, I saw the excitement there. I was dreaming that one day I would hopefully experience this with Turkey. Now we are on this stage. I hope we can experience it too. I agree that they see us as a 'dark horse', as a team we are full of quality players. We have players who can do something extra at any moment. They might be afraid of us!"

'A VERY NICE FEELING'

Everyone is important in this team. No matter what kind of 11 the coach comes up with, he is behind the coach, behind this decision. I know what I can bring to the team, I know my qualities, and if the coach gives me the chance, I want to do my best. I was at Benfica for a year, I think he came on the last day, it was stressful for Kerem. When he first arrived I was sure he would be successful. I knew his quality and what he needed at Benfica. When he arrived he scored goals in 10 games in a row. We got along very well at Benfica, both on and off the pitch. It was a good period. We also played together in the World Club Championship for 1-2 weeks. Now we are here. We want to write the most beautiful story here. We are doing our best, everyone is focused. It is a very nice feeling to be here again with Kerem."

Two players responded to the question about Kenan Yıldız's injury as follows:

Orkun Kökçü said, "Are you a Juventus fan? I think Kenan has a slight injury right now. We don't know exactly. We all know how talented Kenan is. We need everyone. I hope we will see Kenan among us as soon as possible, Kenan is very important like the other players. I think he will be ready, I am not a doctor or physiotherapist, but he will be ready."

Kerem Aktürkoğlu said the following about Kenan: "We all know Kenan's quality. He is very important for us. As far as I know, his injury is getting better, he started training. I don't know the timing of his return as we are not doctors. I sincerely say that we have very good players, young and with potential. We are all aware of that. I hope Kenan will be with us in every game and make important contributions. It doesn't really matter who plays, 85 million people will be behind him no matter who plays. I hope everyone will be fit and ready to play."