VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Türkiye skipper Hakan Çalhanoglu has thrown a verbal salvo ahead of their opening World Cup fixture against Australia, believing that his side will "dominate" the Socceroos thanks to their superior quality and more talented team.
Returning to the World Cup for the first time since 2002, Ay-Yıldızlılar -- the Crescent Stars in English -- will commence their campaign against Australia here, before following that with fixtures against Paraguay and the United States.
Quarterfinalists at the most recent European Championships, Türkiye have been tipped by many to top Group D and are widely expected to progress to the knockout stages, and their captain proved surprisingly candid when asked about his impression of the Australians and how they'll beat them.
"Our coach analysed them with us together," Çalhanoğlu told media Friday ahead of Turkey's final training session before Saturday's clash. "We know that they're a physical team, that they're good on corner kicks and the free kicks, because they are tall and strong.
"But I think that we dominate tomorrow, the game, because we have more qualities and a more talented team, so we will see tomorrow what happens."
The least heralded of Group D's sides, Australia has already been the recipient of barbs from the United States punditry class, labelled as "average" or "lay-ups" -- remarks that attacker Connor Metcalfe declared he was "sick of" and which standout defender Jordan Bos told ESPN had him "fired up a little bit."
The remarks from the Inter Milan midfielder, thus, will likely raise eyebrows in the Socceroos' camp, with coach Tony Popovic and Aiden O'Neill set to stage their official pre-match news conference later on Friday afternoon.
Socceroo defender Miloš Degenek, who will be playing at his third World Cup in North America, has previously said that his side's experience at World Cups could be an advantage, noting, "Türkiye has got a lot of pressure as well, because they haven't been to a World Cup since 2002. There's a lot of hope on them, and a lot of pressure."
And the weight of expectation from a football-mad, 87.9 million strong population -- to say nothing of their extensive diaspora around the world -- was acknowledged by both Çalhanoğlu and TSG Hoffenheim central defender Ozan Kabak.
"It's [been] a long time, very long time," Çalhanoğlu said. "Everyone is waiting for tomorrow. We are proud, after 24 years, to be back again. Everyone knows how it feels, and the pressure. At the same time, it is for us to represent our nation; the moment comes now. Tomorrow is the day. We've prepared for these two, three weeks, very well, and our focus is just on the game tomorrow.
"Everyone of us cares about [the expectations]. All the team, they know how the pressure is. But at the same time, we also enjoy the moment. We cannot forget the moment, because as a child, you always dream for that. So now, your dream has come true. At the same time, of course, you want to represent the nation, your nation, as well as possible."
"Obviously, it's big pressure, but we expect them to expect something from us," Kabak added. "Because we haven't been on this stage, the biggest stage in the world. So, let's just focus on our game, not think about pressure and play our game. I think we can, we can achieve something big and make them proud."