Turkey sack Vincenzo Montella after four straight Nations League defeats

Vincenzo Montella has been sacked as Turkey head coach after the national team opened their Nations League campaign with four straight defeats.

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) confirmed the Italian's dismissal in a brief statement published on its official website, which read: "It has been decided that Mr Vincenzo Montella will not continue as our national team."

Turkey's start to the Nations League could hardly have gone worse. Montella's side were beaten by France, twice by Italy and once by Belgium in their first four fixtures, and the winless run proved fatal for a coach who had already overseen an early exit at this year's World Cup, where Turkey were eliminated in the group stage.

From Euro 2024 and the World Cup to the sack

Montella took charge of the national team in September 2023 and successfully guided Turkey to both Euro 2024 and the 2026 World Cup, but his teams failed to go deep at either tournament.

Previously in charge of AC Milan, Fiorentina and Sevilla, the Italian won 21 of his 40 matches at the Turkey helm — a win rate of 52.5% — while suffering 14 defeats.

"This time we will win" — the vow that went unfulfilled

As recently as late September, Montella had struck a defiant tone. Speaking after Turkey's narrow 1-0 defeat to France in their Nations League opener, which was settled by Kylian Mbappe's 54th-minute strike, he insisted his side were on the brink of a landmark result — despite a historically lopsided head-to-head record in which Italy had never lost to Turkey in 14 previous meetings.

"This time we will win," Montella pledged at the time.

The promised victory never materialised. Instead, Italy beat Turkey twice, Belgium added a fourth consecutive defeat, and the TFF has now brought the Italian's reign to an end.