Turkey boss Avci selects fresh faces

Turkey manager Abdullah Avci has phased out a number of established players, while blooding youngsters for their friendly with Slovakia.

The likes of Fenerbahce duo Volkan Demirel and Emre Belozoglu – mainstays in the national team for the best part of a decade – have not made the cut, along with both Hamit and Halil Altintop.

Promising youngsters such as Necip Uysal, Semih Kaya and Hasan-Ali Kaldirim have all been given a chance to prove their international credentials for Wednesday’s clash at Antalya Ataturk Stadyumu.

Meanwhile, Germany-based players such as Olcay Sahan, Tunay Torun, Omer Toprak and Mehmet Ekici are all included in the 27-man squad.

Star man Nuri Sahin returns to the national squad after a lengthy absence through a string of injuries.

Turkey squad: Sinan Bolat, Cenk Gonen, Tolga Zengin, Serdar Aziz, Gokhan Gonul, Eren Gungor, Hasan Ali Kaldirim, Semih Kaya, Serdar Kemisal, Ismail Koybasi, Omer Toprak, Olcan Adin, Soner Aydogdu, Mehmet Ekici, Caner Erkin, Selcuk Inan, Alper Potuk, Olcay Sahan, Nuri Sahin, Mehmet Topal, Tunay Torun, Arda Turan, Necip Uysal, Umut Bulut, Mevlut Erdinc, Mustafa Pektemek, Burak Yilmaz.