Zurich, Jan 21 (AP) FIFA cleared Netherlands under-21 winger Ferdi Kadioglu on Friday to switch national eligibility to Turkey ahead of World Cup qualifying playoffs in March.

The 22-year-old Fenerbahçe player was born in the Netherlands and has a Turkish father.

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FIFA rules allowed the change because Kadioglu never appeared in a competitive game for the Dutch senior team. He represented the Netherlands at youth levels through to the U21 team.

Turkey next plays at Portugal on March 24 in the semifinals of a playoffs bracket in European qualifying for the World Cup.

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The winner hosts Italy or North Macedonia on March 29 with a place at the World Cup in Qatar at stake. AP

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)