Red Carpet to runway: Turkish national team departs for World Cup under massive flag-waving convoy

The Crescent-Stars are officially on their way to the 2026 World Cup, and their departure from Istanbul on Tuesday looked less like a standard airport transfer and more like a moving national holiday.

Ending a 24-year absence from the tournament, the Turkish national football team—led by stars Arda Güler, Kenan Yıldız, and captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu—was escorted from their Riva training facility to Istanbul Airport by a thunderous motorcade. Hundreds of cars, many of them domestic Togg electric vehicles, flooded the streets in a synchronized convoy, each one draped in red-and-white Turkish flags. Thousands of fans lined the route, honking horns and waving banners as the team bus slipped through the sea of patriotism.

The spectacle reached its peak at the Jetex Istanbul General Aviation Terminal, where a ceremonial marching band greeted the players. Adding to the visual drama, every member of the traveling delegation arrived in a sharp, coordinated outfit—a detail that quickly went viral on Turkish social media.

Youth and Sports Minister Osman Aşkın Bak was present on the tarmac to personally see the team off. “Hopefully, the end of the road is the final,” he told the players as they boarded a private aircraft bound for the United States.

Turkey will first land in Fort Lauderdale before heading to Miami for a final pre-tournament friendly against Venezuela at Inter Miami Stadium on Saturday. Placed in Group D alongside the USA, Paraguay, and Australia, the team is aiming to replicate the magical deep run of 2002, when they finished third on the world stage.

For a nation that has waited nearly a quarter of a century, the message from the departing convoy was clear: this time, they are arriving in style.