England Appoints Thomas Tuchel As New National Team Manager

Thomas Tuchel has been appointed the new England manager, the Football Association (FA) announced on Wednesday.

The German has signed an 18-month contract starting January 1st, set to continue until the conclusion of the 2026 World Cup.

He becomes the third foreign manager to coach England after Sweden’s Sven Goran Eriksson and Italy’s Fabio Capello.

“I am very proud to have been given the honor of leading the England team,” Tuchel said. “I have long felt a personal connection to the game in this country, and it has given me some incredible moments already.

“To have the chance to represent England is a huge privilege, and the opportunity to work with this special and talented group of players is very exciting.”

The FA said Tuchel was the “preferred candidate” from several interviewees after a search for a new manager following Gareth Southgate’s departure in July.

The board confirmed the decision to appoint Tuchel last week (Tuesday, October 8th) with an announcement delayed to “minimize distraction” around the latest international camp.

In the role, he will be assisted by English coach Anthony Barry.

FA CEO Mark Billingham said, “We are thrilled to have hired Thomas Tuchel, one of the best coaches in the world, and Anthony Barry, who is one of the best English coaches, to support him. Our recruitment process has been very thorough.

“Thomas was very impressive and stood out with his vast expertise and his drive. Anthony is a top English talent and also has international experience with the Republic of Ireland, Belgium, and Portugal.

“Fundamentally we wanted to hire a coaching team to give us the best possible chance of winning a major tournament, and we believe they will do just that. Thomas and the team have a single-minded focus on giving us the best possible chance to win the World Cup in 2026.”

The FA has also confirmed that Lee Carsley will remain as England’s interim manager for their two upcoming Nations League matches against Greece and the Republic of Ireland next month.

Carsley will then return to his role as Under-21 boss allowing Tuchel to take the reins of the senior side.

Tuchel was identified as the next England manager following a thorough search to replace Southgate, during which the FA also reached out to Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola to assess his interest.

Tuchel coaching career so far

Tuchel has enjoyed extensive success at club level, though this will be his first venture into international management.

He has managed six clubs in his career, ranging from Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, and most recently, Bayern Munich.

Tuchel guided Chelsea to the Champions League title in 2021 and also secured the Club World Cup before being sacked a year later.

He also won domestic league titles with both PSG and Bayern, who he left at the end of last season.

Managing England will be Tuchel’s first line of work since exiting the Bavarian-based side and his sole focus will be to lead the Three Lions to glory for the first time since 1966.

Under his predecessor, Southgate, England reached the finals of Euro 2020 and Euro 2024 but fell short against Italy and Spain, respectively.