The Turkish Football Federation announced this in a statement today: “Following an evaluation meeting held today (Wednesday) with national team coach Stefan Kuntz, the Turkish Football Federation administration of the Turkish Football Federation has agreed to part ways with Mr. Kuntz.”
According to Turkish media, the Italian Vincenzo Montella is the favorite to succeed him.
Kuntz, former coach of the German U21s, had been in the hot seat since Turkey’s draw (1-1) on September 8 at home against Armenia in a Euro 2024 qualifier. His players lost four days later 4-2 in a friendly match against Japan.
In office since September 2021, the German had failed to qualify Turkey for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and was the subject of increasingly strong criticism, both for his tactical choices and for his statements.
Turkey, 41st in the world rankings, occupies second place in Group D qualifying for Euro 2024 with 10 points in five matches, behind Croatia (10 pts, 4 matches), which it will face on October 12, and ahead Armenia and Wales (7 pts, 5 matches).