Thomas Tuchel becomes coach of the English national team
The football motherland will be relying on a German from January. Former Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel should lead England to the 2026 World Cup as national coach and end the long wait for a title.
Thomas Tuchel will succeed Gareth Southgate
Uwe Anspach/dpa
Thomas Tuchel is the new England coach. The 51-year-old German quickly reached an agreement with the English FA.
The former coach of Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, FSV Mainz, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich becomes the first German to hold the most important coaching position in the motherland of football. Tuchel will start work on January 1, 2025. The English will play the last two Nations League games in Greece and against Ireland in mid-November again under Lee Carsley.
Tuchel is expected to lead the Three Lions to the 2026 World Cup finals in the USA, Mexico and Canada. He signed an 18-month contract, as the association announced on its website. The contract was signed on October 8th. Tuchel believes 18 months is ideal for the job as national coach. «In this case it was important to me to have a clear framework because for me it is a bit of a leap into the unknown. I was used to working as a club coach on a daily basis. “It will be completely different now,” said Tuchel. After these 18 months we will sit down and see what happens next.
Tuchel, who also has his long-time assistant Anthony Barry at his side in the English national team, is supposed to satisfy England’s almost 60-year longing for the first major title since the 1966 World Cup triumph.
Prince William is looking forward to Tuchel
Tuchel promised that he would “do everything to make England successful and the fans proud.” The coaching job at the Three Lions is “a great privilege”. He is looking forward to “the opportunity to work with this special and talented group of players.” He is “very proud” and has felt “personally connected” to football in England for a long time.
Prince William has already assured Tuchel of his support. “Thomas, we wish you good luck and are all behind you!” wrote the British heir to the throne on the X platform. With the appointment of the German, the 42-year-old sees “exciting times” ahead for the Three Lions, “with a new generation talented players and a new manager to take the reins.”
The message on the account of the heir to the British throne was signed with “W”, the first letter of the first name William. This is considered a sign that he wrote the message himself. Prince William is patron of the English Football Association FA.
The third foreigner
Tuchel is the third foreign national coach in England after the Swede Sven-Göran Eriksson (January 2001 to July 2006), who recently died of cancer, and the Italian Fabio Capello (December 2007 to February 2012).
Tuchel, for his part, responded with humor when he was introduced as England’s new national coach to critics who would have preferred to see an English coach at the Three Lions. “I’m sorry, I only have a German passport,” said the 51-year-old with a smile. Then Tuchel added: “Hopefully I can convince them and show them and prove that I am proud to be the coach of England and will give everything for this job.”
The English Football Association confirmed Tuchel’s commitment on Wednesday morning, and the presentation took place at Wembley Stadium in the afternoon. The day before, most English media had reported Tuchel’s involvement. “Tuchel is an old acquaintance for English fans, having coached Chelsea for 17 months between 2021 and 2022,” according to the Daily Mail. Tuchel took over Chelsea in January 2021 and led them to winning the Champions League straight away. In the final, Chelsea won against Manchester City 1-0.
Carsley angezählt
After finishing third in the Premier League the following season, Tuchel and Chelsea made a false start with consequences. In September 2022, the club parted ways with the German coach, who then ended up at Bayern after a break. His contract there was terminated after last season.
The position as English national coach became vacant after the European Championships after the collaboration with Gareth Southgate ended after eight years despite the renewed push for the European Championship finals. Lee Carsley took over on an interim basis, but the recent 2-1 defeat in the Nations League at Wembley was hard on him.
With the English, Tuchel will be reunited with some Chelsea FC players and, above all, with national team captain Harry Kane, who played under him at Bayern Munich. “Thomas is a fantastic coach and a fantastic person,” said Kane. (sda/dpa)
