By Fatih Erel
ISTANBUL (AA) - The Turkish National Football Team lineup has been announced ahead of matches against Sweden and Ukraine set for Nov. 17 and 20.
At home in the central Anatolian city of Konya, Turkey will face Sweden in the UEFA Nations League on Nov. 17.
Turkey will also play against Ukraine in a friendly match at home in the Mediterranean resort of Antalya on Nov. 20.
Currently Turkey is in the number two spot in League B, Group C with 3 points. Russia and Sweden are Turkey's opponents in the group. Russia leads the group with 7 points, while Sweden has 1 point so far. Turkey and Russia have played three matches in the group, while Sweden has played two.
The group winner will move up to Group A, while the team at the bottom will move down to Group C.
The UEFA Nations League is a new national team competition that replaces friendlies with competitive matches, allowing nations to play against equally ranked teams.
The 55 associations were split into four leagues according to their rankings. The group winners in Leagues B, C, and D get promoted, while teams that finish at the bottom of their groups in Leagues A, B, and C are relegated.
Turkey's announced squad against Sweden and Ukraine is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Gokhan Akkan (Caykur Rizespor), Serkan Kirintili (Atiker Konyaspor), Sinan Bolat (Royal Antwerp).
Defenders: Mehmet Zeki Celik (Lille), Mert Muldur (Rapid Wien), Caglar Soyuncu (Leicester City), Ertugrul Ersoy (Bursaspor), Kaan Ayhan (Fortuna Dusseldorf), Merih Demiral (Aytemiz Alanyaspor), Serdar Aziz, Omer Bayram (Galatasaray), Hasan Ali Kaldirim (Fenerbahce).
Midfielders: Cengiz Under (Roma), Serdar Gurler (Huesca), Aytac Kara (Bursaspor), Irfan Can Kahveci, Mahmut Tekdemir (Medipol Basaksehir), Oguzhan Ozyakup (Besiktas), Okay Yokuslu (Celta Vigo), Tarkan Serbest (Kasimpasa), Hakan Calhanoglu (Milan), Yunus Malli (Wolfsburg).
Strikers: Cenk Tosun (Everton), Enes Unal (Real Valladolid).