Samet Akaydin
Squad number 25 · Çaykur Rizespor
Their 2026 World Cup
Samet Akaydin travelled to the 2026 World Cup with Turkey, wearing number 25, without ever getting on the pitch. His side played 3 matches (1 win and 2 defeats) and lifted the trophy after winning the group stage (Group D) against United States by 3-2.
Defence went to A. Bardakcı (3 matches, 266′) and M. Demiral (2 matches, 180′).
One more Turkey squad member ended up the same way, without a single minute. The full run is on the Turkey team page.
Biography
Samet Akaydin (born 13 March 1994) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Süper Lig club Çaykur Rizespor and the Turkey national team.
Club career Akaydin began his youth career with Black Sea Region-based clubs Trabzon İdmanocağı, Trabzonspor, Boluspor and started his professional career with hometown club Arsinspor. He played four seasons with Istanbul-based club Sancaktepe, one season with Şanlıurfaspor, one and a half seasons with Ankara Keçiörengücü.
Adana Demirspor Akaydin moved to Süper Lig side Adana Demirspor until the end of the 2023-24 season. On 23 January 2021, he made his debut against Bursaspor. On 18 September 2021, he made his Süper Lig debut against Rizespor in a 3–1 win. He made 49 Süper Lig (with 4 goals) and 6 TFF First League appearances with the team and also made three Turkish cup appearances and one goal. He was selected to the national team.
Fenerbahçe On 4 December 2023, Akaydin signed Turkish powerhouse Fenerbahçe, until the end of the 2026–27 season.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) · text adapted from the article.
See all the tournament stats on the World Cup data hub.
Photo: Antalyaspor A.Ş. · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)