The invitation was sent in the wake of an article in The Times announcing an agreement reached with Tuchel, a 51-year-old coach with a thick club CV, without a position since the end of his adventure in May with Bayern Munich.
“Everything is settled!”, announced the German daily Bild on its website. “The English Football Association will officially announce it tomorrow, Wednesday,” he said.
The FA chose to take its time after the departure of Gareth Southgate, its coach since 2016, following the Euro-2024 final lost last summer against Spain.
The boss of the English Espoirs, Lee Carsley, was appointed on an interim basis to lead the team in the Nations League, with results initially satisfactory (September), then more disappointing (October).
Tuchel ticks all the boxes in the robot portrait established by the FA, starting with the prize list, which he established in particular with Paris Saint-Germain (2018-2020) and Bayern Munich (2023-2024).
He especially benefits from a high rating in England since the treble won in 2021 with Chelsea (Champions League, European Super Cup, Club World Cup), a few months after being fired from PSG.
– Third foreign coach –
His appointment would place him in the very exclusive club of foreign coaches who have led the “Three Lions”, after the Swede Sven-Goran Eriksson (2001-2006) and the Italian Fabio Capello (2007-2012).
In the land of football, pressure from the media and supporters is constant and very intense around the selection, weaned from titles since the 1966 World Cup won at home.
Southgate has certainly placed the team among the leaders of the continent, but he failed on the last step twice, in the final of the Euro against Italy in 2021 at Wembley, then three years later in Berlin against a Superior “Roja” collectively.
The England of captain Harry Kane, whom Tuchel led at Bayern, will be expected at the turn during the next World Cup, in 2026 in the United States, Canada and Mexico, then in 2028 during the European Championship which she co-organizes with Ireland.
It currently has a considerable reservoir of young talent, particularly in midfield (Declan Rice, Kobbie Mainoo…) and in attack (Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Anthony Gordon…).
At Chelsea, where he worked from January 2021 to September 2022, Tuchel managed to get the best out of the club’s promising players, in addition to taking care of his relations with the media and supporters.
His greatest achievement remains the Champions League of the 2021 edition which he won against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, although presented as the big favorite.
The multi-titled Spanish coach was one of those cited by the press for the position of coach. This hypothesis should be definitively buried on Wednesday.
jta/bm
