By Daily Mail | 2024-10-16

Thomas Tuchel has been confirmed as England's new permanent manager on an 18-month contract.

The FA have been looking for Gareth Southgate's successor since he resigned two days after England's Euro 2024 final defeat by Spain in July and have opted for the former Chelsea manager.

He will begin his £6m-a-year role on January 1, 2025, and becomes England's third foreign manager after Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.

In a statement released on Wednesday morning, the FA confirmed Tuchel signed his contract last Tuesday and will be assisted by former Chelsea and Bayern Munich coach Anthony Barry.

Upon his appointment, 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.'

FA CEO Mark Bullingham added: '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.

'Before the Euros we had a contingency plan and outlined exactly the qualities we would be looking for in a coach. Since Gareth resigned, we have worked through the candidate pool, meeting a number of coaches and evaluating them against that criteria.

'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 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.'

Interim boss Lee Carsley will still take charge of the senior side for their Nations League matches with Greece and Republic of Ireland next month, before Tuchel leads England into the 2026 World Cup.

Tuchel's appointment brings to an end the uncertainty that has surrounded the England job since Southgate's departure, with Carsley failing to confirm whether he was interested in taking the position on a full-time basis.

He appeared to be in pole position after leading England to consecutive wins over Republic of Ireland and Finland last month, but a damaging loss to Greece at Wembley hurt his hopes, and Carsley subsequently admitted he was looking forward to 'hopefully' returning to the Under 21s.

The FA have since acted quickly and brought in Tuchel after previously making contact with Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola to gauge his interest in the job.

Tuchel has a glittering CV at club level, but has never managed an international side.

The 51-year-old has managed five teams, including Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, PSG and Bayern.

The England job will be his first since he left Bayern at the end of last season.

Tuchel famously led Chelsea to Champions League glory in 2021, just four months after replacing Frank Lampard in the Stamford Bridge dugout.

He also won the Club World Cup with the Blues, and has claimed league titles at PSG and Bayern.

But he moved on from the German giants after they finished third in the Bundesliga last term.

Tuchel has now been tasked with leading England's men's team to major tournament glory for the first time since 1966.

His predecessor Southgate took England to successive Euros finals in 2021 and 2024, but was unable to get his side over the line.

The Three Lions were beaten on penalties by Italy three years ago at Wembley, and fell short again in the summer as they lost 2-1 to Spain in Berlin.

England were criticised for their playing style at times under Southgate, particularly at the most recent Euros, and Tuchel will now aim to make the team easier on the eye while also finding a winning formula.

The next World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada is just over 18 months away, as England aim to end almost six decades of hurt.
Daily Mail

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