Official: Montella sacked by Turkiye after winless Nations League start

BOLOGNA - OCTOBER 05: Vincenzo Montella, Head Coach of Turkiye, looks on before the UEFA Nations League 2026/27 group phase match between Italy and Türkiye at Renato Dall'Ara Stadium on October 05, 2026 in Bologna. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

The Turkish football federation has officially announced that Vincenzo Italiano has been dismissed from his position as head coach of the Turkiye national team after losing all four matches at the start of their Nations League campaign. 

Official: Turkiye sack Montella after four consecutive Nations League defeats

Montella had served as head coach of the Turkiye national team since September 2023, successfully qualifying for both EURO 2024 and the 2026 World Cup. Their EUROs campaign ended in a 2-1 defeat to Austria in the Round of 16 and were eliminated from the World Cup at the end of the group stage. 

Turkiye’s four most recent matches since the World Cup have all ended in defeat as well. Montella was in the same Nations League group as Italy and lost twice to the Azzurri during the September-October international break. His side were also beaten 3-0 away against Belgium and 1-0 at home against France in the Nations League fixtures over the last few weeks. 

Montella was without perhaps his three most important players for the September-October international break, namely captain Hakan Calhanoglu, Juventus star Kenan Yildiz and Real Madrid talent Arda Guler. 

Still, this was not a big enough excuse for Montella to keep hold of his job, as the Turkish federation confirmed his dismissal in a statement released on Friday afternoon. 

“It has been decided that Mr Vincenzo Montella will not continue as our national team,” read a brief statement on the TFF website.