They streamed away from Fadil Vokrri Stadium, smiles as wide as the Bosphorus back home, dreaming of the summer ahead.
For some of the Turkey fans flooding into Pristina’s centre after their team’s World Cup qualification was secured by beating Kosovo on Tuesday, it is the dream of a lifetime too. It has been 24 years since Turkey last played at FIFA’s showpiece tournament. One beaming supporter who stopped to speak to The Athletic was a baby the last time it happened, back in 2002. Another had not even been born.
But each had a message for the USMNT, whom their team will now face in Group D in June: “We’re coming for you — and we fear nobody in the group.”
Mehmet Emir Evran is a law student who flew from Istanbul to watch the game, and was still on a high as he headed back to his hotel in the light drizzle after the game that was decided by Kerem Akturkoglu’s solitary goal.
Tickets for the match at the 13,000-capacity stadium were in short supply, but thousands of Turkey’s football-obsessed fanbase made the trip to watch them eke out a narrow 1-0 victory over a determined Kosovo.
“I’ve never seen my country at the World Cup,” says Evran, 25. “I was far too young to remember 2002 and so I can’t describe my feelings tonight. I am so happy. We worked hard for it and we have a good generation of players.
“We needed them, too, against Kosovo.”
A delighted Mehmet Emir Evran celebrates Turkey’s win (Greg O’Keeffe/The Athletic)
Evran, who studied in New York in 2019, has already renewed his visa and begun planning to travel to the U.S. this summer. So what sort of challenge does he think Mauricio Pochettino’s side will pose to his heroes?
“Our group at the World Cup is not so tough,” he says. “USA, Paraguay and Australia — I think we can beat all of them. Even the U.S. on home ground. (Christian) Pulisic is dangerous and maybe (Weston) McKennie, too; I see him when he plays with Kenan (Yildiz) at Juventus.
“But we got to the quarter-finals of the last Euros so I am optimistic. I do think we can win that group. I totally trust my team.
“It would be arrogant for me to say we don’t fear any team. That wouldn’t be the truth because Spain, France and Germany are all very good. But in our group, the route to the quarter-finals seems possible. We have a chance to achieve something.”
Evran is not convinced the whole of the U.S. is ready to get behind a home-soil World Cup in the way other countries can become captivated by hosting a major tournament.
“I am not sure that the U.S. is a football country,” he says. “They have (Lionel) Messi and Luis Suarez playing in Miami and they are trying to bring big players, but I am not sure Americans are really into the tournament all that much.
“I think the (ticket) prices are too high, also. I will be able to maybe watch a couple of the matches but it is very expensive. Two years ago in Euro 2024 in Germany, tickets were a maximum of 100 Euros ($116; £87).
“It will certainly be different in the U.S but I hope it’s a nice tournament for everyone.”
Turkey fans celebrate at Fadil Vokrri Stadium (Ferdi Limani/Getty Images)
High school student Tugra Yaman Bencoglu, 15, is a Besiktas fan from Istanbul who travelled to the game with his family. He is equally confident Turkey can dominate Group D in two months’ time — even if he is philosophical about the unpredictable nature of tournament football.
“I honestly think we can beat the USA if we really try, but also anything can happen,” he says as his friends sing Turkish football anthems and dance around him while three local police officers watch. “There have been big upsets in these qualifiers so, also, I would not be surprised if the Americans do very well. Anything can happen.
“Overall tonight has given me so much hope. First of all I was really scared that we would lose and go home defeated. After 24 years we are finally in the World Cup and it’s such a good feeling.”
Tugra Yaman Bencoglu (second from the right) and his party in Kosovo (Greg O’Keeffe/The Athletic)
Both Turkish fans described a warm welcome from Kosovo supporters in the capital city.
“It is my first time in Kosovo,” adds Evran. “I was speaking to their fans during the daytime and they told me that they wanted to show how they built their country and football is a good way to do that. They all believe it.
“They didn’t succeed tonight but I really hope they will do it one day.”
Bencoglu also enjoyed the warmth of the home supporters on Tuesday. “I was sitting in the stadium with the Kosovo fans and they were so nice to us,” he explains. “I was a bit frightened because, in Turkey, the two groups of supporters don’t mix as much, but here they let us cheer, they let us laugh and they took selfies with us.
“We are looking forward to seeing Kosovo tomorrow and visiting their mosques.”
The teenager is already saving for his own dream trip to the U.S.. “I will be trying hard to go to America in the summer,” he says. “If I can get my visa sorted, I will go. I hope every single Turk goes and watches those games as well.
“Then there are a lot of Turkish people who live there already. For me it’s always been my dream to visit places like Chicago, New York City and the Empire State building.
“It’s a dream for me that we can beat anyone this summer and in my heart it’s a big dream.”
Turkey fans celebrate their qualification for a first World Cup since 2002 (Ferdi Limani/Getty Images)
Leave it to the (slightly) older generation, who have seen Turkey fail to qualify for a few too many tournaments in recent years — until now at least — to sound one small note of caution. “My only fear is that although our coach, (Vincenzo) Montella, is a really good coach, but he sometimes makes his changes too late,” adds Evran. “Tonight he made bad changes.
“(Hakan) Calhanoglu, Yildiz and (Arda) Guler are our best players and, if you take them out of the team, you cannot play the ball as well.”
Regardless, both supporters are buoyed by their team reaching the World Cup the hard way, via this tense finale in Pristina. Neither is too afraid of what the USMNT has in store for them, either.
But they can’t wait to find out.