{"id":2516,"date":"2026-06-19T11:07:42","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T11:07:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2516"},"modified":"2026-06-19T11:07:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T11:07:42","slug":"bay-area-fans-wind-up-for-turkeys-long-awaited-world-cup-soccer-appearance-at-levis-stadium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2516","title":{"rendered":"Bay Area fans wind up for Turkey’s long-awaited World Cup soccer appearance at Levi’s Stadium"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For the first time in more than two decades, Turkey has made it to soccer\u2019s World Cup, and Turkish people around the Bay Area are having a ball.<\/p>\n

Read more Horoscopes June 19, 2026: Zoe Saldana, keep your emotions to yourself<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody\u2019s excited,\u201d said Sean Tekdemir, a former professional soccer player in Turkey and Indonesia who owns the Pro Elite Soccer Academy in Mountain View.<\/p>\n

The four dozen national soccer teams in the World Cup have been divided into 12 groups. Turkey is in Group D with the U.S., Australia and Paraguay.<\/p>\n

Turkey, the country of origin for thousands of Bay Area residents, was widely seen as the top threat to the U.S. team to finish first in the group, before it fell Saturday to Australia in a stunning 2-0 upset in Vancouver.\u00a0The national team includes a couple of top players in big European leagues: Arda G\u00fcler from Real Madrid in Spain and Kenan Y\u0131ld\u0131z at Juventus in Italy, both just 21 years old, although most players play in the Turkish league, which has become more competitive in recent years.<\/p>\n

Now the Turkish squad goes up against Paraguay at 8 p.m. on June 19 at Levi\u2019s Stadium in Santa Clara. Tekdemir will be in the stands, with three of the aspiring professional players he coaches at his academy, and the parents of one of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll point out some tactical moves,\u201d Tekdemir said.<\/p>\n

His invitation to the group was conditional: \u201cI told them, \u2018Come with me to celebrate for Turkey \u2014 go for Turkey or you can\u2019t go with me,’\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure we\u2019ll have enough fans cheering for Turkey, but just to make sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Tekdemir believes Turkey\u2019s loss Saturday may be attributable to a fatal overconfidence, after the team\u2019s captain Hakan Calhanoglu boasted Turkey would \u201cdominate\u201d Australia.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe team, I don\u2019t think, was completely locked in,\u201d Tekdemir said.<\/p>\n

Thirty-two countries will advance after each team within each group plays the other three. To advance, a team must finish in its group\u2019s top two, or be one of the top eight third-place teams based on number of wins, ties and losses.<\/p>\n

Whoever finishes atop Group D will play July 1 at Levi\u2019s Stadium.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Before the Cup games started, the sport\u2019s global governing body the F\u00e9d\u00e9ration Internationale de Football Association ranked Turkey somewhere in the middle of the World Cup pack, below powerhouses like France, Spain and Argentina, but above Uzbekistan, Iraq and Jordan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am feeling pressure,\u201d Tekdemir said. \u201cAfter qualifying for this World Cup, we don\u2019t want to just go out without leaving some memories in the bank.\u201d<\/p>\n

Turkey had a memorable World Cup in 2002, finishing third, but didn\u2019t qualify for the next five Cups. In 2026, Turkey qualified through the European playoffs and benefited from the expansion to 48 teams in this World Cup \u2014 16 of those from Europe, up from 13 in 2022.<\/p>\n

Several members of the Turkish World Cup team have gained high profiles competing for European clubs, Tekdemir noted.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing them playing together and representing Turkey in this stage is exciting,\u201d said Tekdemir, 42.<\/p>\n

Read more Calmes: Trump is stealing Americans\u2019 faith in elections<\/a><\/p>\n

The World Cup, held every four years, represents a month-long crescendo of a three-year competition among men\u2019s national soccer teams in FIFA.<\/p>\n

Soccer arrived in Turkey in the 1870s, brought by British merchants to major port cities including Istanbul, and has grown to be the nation\u2019s most popular sport, according to The Project on Middle East Political Science at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a former semi-professional soccer player, has continued to compete in exhibition matches.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s played almost everywhere on the streets,\u201d Tekdemir said. Indoor, seven-on-seven organized pickup games are held in nearly every city and small town in Turkey, Tekdemir said. \u201cPeople meet after work, and they play,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Tekdemir\u2019s brother Dino, owner of several Bay Area restaurants including Anatolian Kitchen in Palo Alto and Barbayani Greek Taverna in Los Altos, carries on the after-work indoor-soccer tradition, playing with people from his restaurants on Wednesday nights in Redwood City.<\/p>\n

In advance of the game at Levi\u2019s Stadium, many Turkish fans have been flowing into the Bay Area from the East Coast and Canada, Dino Tekdemir said. And, he added, \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of people also traveling from Turkey.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tekdemir will be going the other way, however. He\u2019s heading to Turkey, and plans to catch the game against Paraguay on TV at the crack of dawn because of the time difference, while jet-lagged.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, soccer fans flocked to watch parties to see Turkey face off against Australia, including at Bay Area Cultural Connections in Santa Clara.<\/p>\n

On June 25, Turkey takes on the home team, playing the U.S. in Los Angeles at 7 p.m.<\/p>\n

Sultan\u2019s Kebab restaurants in Campbell, Pleasanton and Livermore are putting all Turkey\u2019s games up on TVs, said owner Fatih Ulas.<\/p>\n

Ulas planned to attend the game at Levi\u2019s Stadium with his wife and two of his children. His ticket prices were steep \u2014 $2,300 each, but Ulas sees the game as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt actually gives me goosebumps,\u201d Ulas said. \u201cIt\u2019s a World Cup and it happens to be in our town in Santa Clara.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are the chances that we\u2019re going to have a Turkish team, me being Turkish, but playing in America, like 10 minutes away from my house? I feel like I\u2019m back home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Asking Eric: We saved for our daughter\u2019s wedding. Should we give her the money or have a party?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Bay Area is home to thousands of people originally from Turkey, where soccer is played all over in the streets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2515,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nBay Area fans wind up for Turkey’s long-awaited World Cup soccer appearance at Levi’s Stadium - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2516\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bay Area fans wind up for Turkey’s long-awaited World Cup soccer appearance at Levi’s Stadium - 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