The German was introduced as the Three Lions’ new manager on Wednesday, and Thomas Tuchel stated that he must be up to the responsibility of ending England’s wait for a first major prize since 1966. Tuchel, the former manager of Chelsea, will begin his new position on January 1, 2025, and will stay there for 18 months, until the 2026 World Cup is over. The 51-year-old, who has been unemployed since departing Bayern Munich at the end of the last campaign, takes over as permanent coach in place of Gareth Southgate and becomes the third foreign manager of England, following Fabio Capello and Sven-Goran Eriksson.
The FA is hoping that Tuchel, who has formerly coached Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain, would help break the team’s 58-year home tournament winless streak, which dates back to the 1966 World Cup. The German’s Champions League victory with Chelsea in 2021 was the greatest point of his career to date while playing football in England.
The FA’s decision, though, has come under fire for their refusal to appoint an Englishman to the top position, managing a highly skilled group of players, including Jude Bellingham, who is expected to be one of the favorites for the 2026 World Cup. Former Manchester United captain and England defender Gary Neville stated, “The FA has some serious questions to answer regarding English coaching.”
After an eight-year tenure that restored England’s prominence on the global scene, Southgate resigned soon after his team’s defeat to Spain in the July Euro 2024 final. “We will build on the foundation that Gareth and the Football Association have built and perhaps we can add something additional to get it over the line,” Tuchel stated. Anthony Barry, an English coach who worked with Tuchel at Bayern, will support him.
the “top coach”
Although there were ten interviewers, including English contenders, FA the chief executive officer Mark Bullingham stated that Tuchel had the greatest chance of succeeding. “We wanted to hire the ideal individual for the job because we believe we owe it to our players and the whole nation to give it all of the backing and that leadership in championships that will assist to get their over the line,” stated Bullingham.
Despite winning league championships at PSG & Bayern as well as the German Cup at Dortmund, Tuchel’s biggest accomplishments were at Chelsea. In addition to winning the UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup with the London club, he led the Blues to a Champions League triumph within months of taking over.
However, in a risky early move that did not work out, Chelsea’s new ownership group fired him in September 2022. He was hired as Bayern’s manager just six months later, and he guided the team to their eleventh straight Bundesliga championship. But last season, Tuchel also saw Bayern’s hegemony in German football come to an end, as the team went trophyless for the first time in twelve years. Harry Kane, the captain of England, scored 44 goals in 45 games while playing for Bayern after Tuchel signed him last year.