Thomas Tuchel confirmed as new England coach

LONDON | Xinhua | Former Chelsea, Paris Saint Germain and Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel has been confirmed as the new coach of the England team.

Tuchel will take over the role on January 1st, 2025, meaning that Lee Carsley will continue in temporary charge for the UEFA Nations League games against Greece and Ireland in November.

In a statement published on Tuesday, the English Football Association added he would be assisted by Anthony Barry.

The FA added that 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.”

However, the FA explained the confirmation had been delayed until after recent matches against Greece and Finland “minimize distraction around the international camp that has just concluded.”

That ploy may have backfired as Carsley had to field several questions over whether he wanted the England job on a full-time basis over the past week, creating an atmosphere of uncertainty around the England team, who were very poor in a 2-1 defeat to Greece.

“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,” said the FA CEO, Mark Bullingham in the press statement.

Tuchel is the permanent replacement for Gareth Southgate, who resigned after taking England to the final of the European Championships in the summer.

“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” continued Bullingham, who set England’s sights on the 2026 World Cup.

“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,” he concluded. ■