The Real Madrid playmaker picked up a late booking in Friday’s 3-0 defeat to Belgium and will miss Monday’s Nations League meeting with the Azzurri.
Turkiye will travel to Italy for Monday night’s Nations League fixture without Arda Guler, who is suspended after collecting a yellow card in the closing minutes of Friday’s 3-0 defeat away to Belgium.
The Real Madrid midfielder went into that game one caution short of a ban. His late booking in Belgium triggered an automatic one-match suspension, ruling him out of the trip to face the Azzurri.
His absence adds to a growing list for Vincenzo Montella. The Italian coach was already without two players well known to Serie A audiences: Juventus forward Kenan Yildiz and Inter midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu are both sidelined through injury.
Results have offered Montella little cover. Turkiye have lost all three of their opening matches in the 2026/27 Nations League group phase. The defeat in Belgium followed a heavy home loss to Italy in Bursa, where the Azzurri ran out comfortable 4-1 winners.
That scoreline sets the tone for the return game. With Guler, Yildiz and Calhanoglu all missing, Turkiye will arrive in Italy without the creative core that normally drives their attack, and with no points to show from the campaign so far.
Italy go into the fixture on the back of a 1-1 draw on Friday night, a less convincing outing than their win in Turkey. A second victory over the same opponent would strengthen their position in the group after three rounds.
For Montella, the former Roma forward and Fiorentina and Milan coach, Monday brings another meeting with the national team he represented as a player. It will be his fourth attempt to get Turkiye off the mark in this edition of the competition, and the game kicks off on Monday night.
