Thomas Tuchel named England manager LIVE: New assistant revealed for Three Lions boss
The German has been officially announced as the third foreign manager of England’s senior men’s side
England have officially announced Thomas Tuchel as the new manager of the men’s national team, with highly-regarded English coach Anthony Barry as his assistant.
The German succeeds Gareth Southgate as the permanent boss of the side in an eye-catching appointment made by the Football Association (FA). The former Chelsea manager has been out of work since leaving Bayern Munich at the end of last season, but carries real pedigree, leading the Stamford Bridge club to Champions League triumph in 2021 and winning league titles in both Germany and France.
The 51-year-old will lead England into the 2026 World Cup on North American soil having emerged as the FA’s preferred appointment this week – with official confirmation coming on Wednesday morning. A number of candidates, including Pep Guardiola, were sounded out over the vacancy while Lee Carsley performed the duties on an interim basis, but Tuchel fits many of the criteria outlined by the stand-in manager last week.
Having worked closely with captain Harry Kane at Bayern last season, Tuchel will be unveiled as the third foreign holder of the role after Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello, but leading pundit Gary Lineker isn’t sure the Three Lions have made the right choice.
Follow all the latest updates in our live blog below:
Lineker on Tuchel’s World Cup chances
Gary Lineker says Thomas Tuchel sees ‘unbelievable opportunity’ to win the World Cup with England. He said: “I respect Thomas Tuchel as coach. I think he’s really clever. I spoke to (German journalist) Raphael Honigstein and he said to me, ’60 per cent genius, 40 per cent lunatic’, or words to that effect.
“No one will care one iota (about his nationality) if England somehow manage to win the World Cup. He’s taken another team’s national squad and he will have done this because he would have looked at this squad and gone, ‘My goodness there’s so much talent in there’.
“This is an unbelievable opportunity of winning the greatest trophy of all and boy would I love him to do it.”
Lineker questions dearth of English coaches
Gary Lineker echoed the views of Alan Shearer in that appointing Thomas Tuchel is not an issue but he did question why there seems to be a lack of top quality English coaches.
The former England forward said: “I don’t think it is imperative (to have an English manager). I’m not going to lose sleep over it. But my personal preference would be that England has an English coach.
“For some reason English football hasn’t produced a plethora of brilliant coaches. Why that is, I don’t know. I think that will happen.
“We are starting to see really good coaches coming through. But I think the reason that we have not produced great coaches is the fact that we were stuck in the past in terms of long-ball football. We were behind everybody else.”
Shearer has no problem with Tuchel’s nationality
Thomas Tuchel’s German nationality will no doubt displease a certain section of fans, but Alan Shearer says he does not have a problem with it, stating: “If he’s the outstanding candidate, yeah.
“There’s no doubt he’s got an incredible CV, what he’s won and managing at the highest level, working with superstars. But this is going to be a very, very different test for him. It’s a bold move from the FA, there’s no doubt about it.
“We need a trophy, it’s as simple as that. And we need a manager that can deliver that.”
Alan Shearer reacts to ThomasTuchel appointment
Alan Shearer believes the Football Association acted quickly to bring in Thomas Tuchel because of the possibility he could become Manchester United manager.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola had also been a name in the frame to succeed Gareth Southgate, and former England striker Shearer told The Rest is Football podcast: “If they sounded out Pep, fine, he’s the best manager in the world.
“You then have to look at what’s available to you. They’ve looked at Thomas Tuchel and have thought there is a chance he could get the Manchester United job pretty soon.
“So opportunity lies now. If they didn’t act quick now they weren’t going to get one of the outstanding candidates for the job.”
Thomas Tuchel becomes third foreign England manager
Thomas Tuchel is now the third foreign England manager, and the third different county represented, after Sweden’s Sven-Goran Eriksson and Italy’s Fabio Capello.
While that element is sure to bring debate from traditionalists in English football, especially given the nature of the football rivalry with Germany, the FA’s sole focus is bringing this era to fruition and winning the 2026 World Cup.
Should Tuchel and his backroom staff achieve that feat, the debate will be settled.
Thomas Tuchel reacts after being confirmed as new England manager: ‘It’s a huge privilege’
Thomas Tuchel maintains it is “a huge privilege” to be confirmed as the new England manager.
The German has been announced as the successor to Gareth Southgate as Three Lions boss and will begin work on 1 January 2025.
And the former Chelsea, PSG and Bayern Munich manager is excited for the journey ahead on the road to the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
Thomas Tuchel reacts after being confirmed as new England manager
The German has been confirmed as the successor to Gareth Southgate and will be assisted by coach Anthony Barry
Lee Carsley has full focus on England’s must-win rematch in Greece
Lee Carsley wishes the must-win trip to Greece was next week as England’s caretaker boss looks to atone for their Wembley wobble and end his interim reign with Nations League promotion.
September’s 2-0 wins away to the Republic of Ireland and Finland were encouraging, but the mood turned when Carsley’s experimental approach against Greece backfired last Thursday.
Lee Carsley has full focus on England’s must-win rematch in Greece
England’s defeat to the Greeks at Wembley left them with an uphill challenge to earn Nations League promotion.
Carsley to return to Under-21s
England’s current interim boss Lee Carsley will return to the Under-21s and lead their defence of the Euros title they won in 2023 once Thomas Tuchel takes over in January 2025.
Carsley has been vocal that his tenure as England senior men’s manager would only last for the three Nations League camps and he is looking forward to returning to his previous role.
The England U21s secured qualification for the 2025 Euros at the weekend.
New assistant coach revealed in Tuchel announcement
Thomas Tuchel will be helped on the sidelines by English coach Anthony Barry who has signed on to be assistant to the German when he takes up his duties as the national coach.
Barry previously worked with Tuchel at Chelsea and Bayern Munich and says he ‘didn’t hesitate’ to join the team when asked.
He said: “For any Englishman in football, working with the national team is the pinnacle and I didn’t hesitate when Thomas asked me to come and join him again. I know what a great place St. George’s Park is and how much of an advantage it gives our England teams, and the support it gives to coaches.
“This squad is very talented and have done so much to bring the country together, I look forward to meeting and working with them on this exciting project.”
Tuchel ‘proud’ to lead England team
Thomas Tuchel has provided some initial thoughts to taking on the England manager job and says he is ‘proud to be given the honour’.
Tuchel said: “I am very proud to have been given the honour of leading the England team. 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.
“Working closely with Anthony as my assistant coach, we will do everything we can to make England successful and the supporters proud. I want to thank The FA, in particular Mark and John, for their trust and I am looking forward to starting our journey together.”
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