Wave of resignations at the World Cup: While world giants go into restructuring, silence continues in Turkey

The 2026 FIFA World Cup took its place on the agenda not only with the struggles on the field but also with the administrative tremors experienced in countries that left the tournament early. As a result of unmet expectations, many countries chose to make radical decisions by holding the technical staff and federation managements accountable. The wave of resignations that began immediately after the tournament took shape with the technical directors of countries such as Netherlands, Czech Republic, and Ecuador leaving their posts. The German Football Association also announced that they were parting ways with the young technical director Julian Nagelsmann following the disappointment, officially entering a new restructuring process.

The news of resignations was not limited to technical directors but also affected federation presidents. In Saudi Arabia, the Federation President was one of the names who resigned, taking responsibility for the failure during the tournament process. On the Asian front, the events in South Korea caused a great echo in the sports public; as the technical director who left the tournament was leaving the country, he faced harsh protests at the airport. These protests were so intense that some local television channels felt obligated to censor the director's face while broadcasting the images.

While such a wide-scale reckoning and wind of change blows globally, Turkey stands out with a completely opposite picture. In the A National Team, which participated in the tournament with great hopes but was eliminated by failing to show the expected performance in the group stage, no resignation or statement of taking responsibility was expected. The fact that no radical step was taken by neither the technical staff nor the management regarding the issue brought the question of why the silence continues to the agenda.

Football authorities and fans are closely following how other countries that left the World Cup early are embarking on a reckoning and cleansing process. As Germany rebuilds its Panzers, Saudi Arabia's decision to change from the very top, and the technical director crisis in South Korea have become a part of the competition on the international stage. These developments have once again revealed the sense of responsibility national teams should have in times of failure.

In the middle of this world tableau, the silence in Turkey causes discomfort and debate in the sports public, leading to various interpretations. While world giants enter a great process of self-criticism and change, the fact that a similar step is not taken or a voice is not heard in Turkey leads to the questioning of the current management approach. Fans and sports commentators are discussing why a price is not paid for the failure experienced and why a radical change like in other countries is not happening, voicing their concerns about the future.