The FA appoint German Thomas Tuchel to give England the best possible chance of winning a major tournament

THE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION have appointed German Thomas Tuchel to become the new England head coach and will be assisted by English coach Anthony Barry.

Tuchel returns to English football after a trophy-laden period with Chelsea, who he led to become European and World champions, having also been successful at elite level in Germany and France.

In addition, the 51-year-old was voted UEFA and FIFA’s coach of the year in 2021 in recognition of his hard work in England.  Tuchel has signed a reported 18-month contract.

His arrival at The FA concludes an extensive recruitment search which beaten in July, just after The Three Lions’ run to the UEFA Euro 2024 Final under Gareth Southgate.

The confidential process, which saw several candidates interviewed, was led by FA CEO Mark Bullingham and men’s technical director John McDermott, and saw Tuchel identified as the preferred appointment.

The decision to recruit Tuchel and Barry was approved by the FA Board early last week, with Tuchel signing his contract on Tuesday 8 October. The announcement was delayed to minimise distraction around the international camp that has just concluded with Lee Carsley overseeing an embarrassing 2-1 home defeat to Greece at Wembley last Thursday, before a comfortable 3-1 win in Finland in the UEFA Nations League three days later.

The pair will begin work on 1 January 2025 ahead of the qualification process for the following year’s FIFA World Cup finals, due to be staged in Canada, Mexico and the USA.

Tuchel’s impressive list of coaching honours includes league titles in France and Germany, twice with Paris Saint-Germain and most recently with Bayern Munich in the 2022/23 season, having won his first major trophy in 2017 when Borussia Dortmund lifted the German Cup.

Tuchel will be reunited with Barry, having worked closely with the Englishman at Chelsea and Bayern and where together they won four trophies between both clubs.

Liverpool-born Barry, who is a UEFA Pro licence holder, has significant international pedigree, notably working with Belgium and Portugal at the 2022 FIFA World Cup and UEFA EURO 2024 respectively.

The pair will bring a small backroom team with them to St. George’s Park, with a further coaching update expected in the near future.

Interim head coach Carsley will remain in charge of the Three Lions through to the conclusion of the UEFA Nations League group stage next month, with decisive games away to Greece and at home to Republic of Ireland. He will then return to lead England’s defence of their UEFA U21 EURO title, after qualification for the finals next summer was secured this weekend.

FA CEO Mark Bullingham said in a statement: “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.

“I would like to thank Lee for stepping up and doing everything we asked of him – he is a very talented coach and a major part of our England pathway. He will now focus on retaining the U21 Euro title in the summer. These are exciting times for England fans at senior and MU21 level, and we look forward to welcoming Thomas and Anthony when they begin work in January.”

Tuchel who becomes the third non-Englishman to manage the England Men’s team following the late Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello, added in a statement: “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.”

Barry added in a statement on The FA website: “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.”

Visit The Football Association’s website:  www.thefa.com