Three months on from their EURO 2024 final heartache England’s search for a new head coach for their men’s team is complete.
Thomas Tuchel is the new permanent boss, unveiled as the new Three Lions head coach on Wednesday.
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In recent weeks England’s interim boss Lee Carsley had said that a ‘world class coach who has won trophies’ should take charge, and the English Football Association has made that happen with Tuchel.
Longtime assistant coach Anthony Barry will assist Tuchel. Barry was last with Bayern Munich, and has served as an assistant with Portugal, Belgium, Ireland, Chelsea, and Wigan Athletic.
Pep Guardiola is out of contract this summer at Manchester City and was linked with the job given uncertainty off the pitch. He was said to be the FA’s ‘dream’ appointment.
Below we focus on Tuchel, with some analysis on the other candidates who were said to be in the FA’s thoughts.
Thomas Tuchel statement on the England job
“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.”
Is Thomas Tuchel a good fit for England?
The German coach, out of work after leaving Bayern Munich at the end of last season, seems to have the right temperament and tactical nous to make this a success.
Tuchel proved at Borussia Dortmund, PSG, Chelsea and Bayern that he is a very good tactician in cup competitions, winning the German Cup with Dortmund, reaching the Champions League final with PSG, winning the Champions League at Chelsea and taking a struggling Bayern side to within a few minutes of the Champions League final last season.
He knows English football well, will be comfortable with the intense pressure placed on him and has worked closely with and against most of this England squad for many years. His close relationship with Harry Kane is also a positive as England aim to get at least two more major tournaments out of their talismanic striker. He is also very good at organizing a team defensively and at making small tweaks during games to decide big moments.
It’s a very good appointment and his straight-talking, no nonsense approach is exactly what this England team needs to take the final step to win something.
His remit for the 2026 World Cup, if England qualify, is clear: win the thing. After successive defeats in the European Championship finals in 2021 and 2024, victory at a major tournament is the only way England will be deemed a success.
Who else was up for the England job?
Pep Guardiola
Obviously Pep Guardiola is the number one candidate for any job in the world. The timing of his contract being up at City will have been intriguing for the FA but it still seemed a long shot that Guardiola would take on this role. Guardiola working with this England team, many of whom either play for him or have played with him at Man City, is the dream scenario for England fans. Pep would have been the final piece of the jigsaw as England seek a major trophy after coming close over the last four tournaments. The FA would not have been doing their job unless they reached out to Guardiola to see if he was interested. It was always going to be a long-shot, and for a moment England fans were dreaming of Pep lifting the World Cup in New York in 2026...
Eddie Howe
Most England fans assumed that Howe would take charge in the summer after Gareth Southgate stepped down, but there have been a few stumbling blocks. First, England aren’t keen on paying the huge release clause in Howe’s Newcastle contract. Second, this opportunity seems to have cropped up quite early in Howe’s managerial career. Third, the changes in Newcastle’s hierarchy above Howe still make this move a possibility in the future. Howe would create a wonderful team to watch with England, just like he has done at Bournemouth and Newcastle, but this job has come one cycle too soon for him. If England need a new coach for EURO 2028 on home soil, Howe should be their number one target. Between now and then he will likely keep Newcastle pushing for a top six finish. He is an extremely driven individual and will no doubt want this job, but it seems like a job at one of the Premier League big boys will be available for Howe before he turns to international management.
Graham Potter
Available and ready to work after leaving Chelsea during the 2022-23 season, Potter seems like the kind of manager who would thrive in the international environment and his teams always play entertaining football and are aggressive with and without the ball. A deep thinker and lover of team-building exercises, Potter punched above his weight at Ostersunds, Swansea and Brighton before his humbling experience at Chelsea. Time has proven that most managers would have struggled given the turmoil behind-the-scenes at Chelsea, so Potter gets a pass. Still, he always seemed like an outside bet for the England job and is more likely to wait for an opening at a midtable Premier League team looking to break into the top 10. If he succeeds there then he will be back in the reckoning for the England job in the future.
Lee Carsley
Winning three of his four games in charge in UEFA Nations League action over the last month, interim boss Carsley has done okay but the experiment to not play a striker at home to Greece was costly as England were totally overpowered and suffered a first home defeat in four years. Carsley is obviously a very good coach and has done extremely well with England’s U21 side, leading them to European Championship glory in the summer of 2023. But strangely he can’t seem to answer questions directly about whether or not he wants the England job permanently and all signs point towards him being very happy with heading back to the U21s very soon. Perhaps he could have another crack at the interim job next time it comes up? Would Carsley be a bad appointment? Not at all. Look at what Luis de la Fuente achieved with Spain this summer after being promoted from the U21s, as Carsley has worked closely with England’s talented crop of youngsters for many years. But in truth Carsley probably wouldn’t be much different to Gareth Southgate and with some of England’s best players coming towards their peak for the 2026 World Cup, a manager with experience of winning trophies consistently at the top level is what this squad desperately needs.
