Thomas Tuchel has been appointed as the new head coach of the England men’s team, a role he will take on from Jan. 1 and into the 2026 World Cup. The former Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss becomes the third foreign-born coach of the Three Lions and the first from Germany. He will be assisted by Anthony Barry, who worked with him at Chelsea, with the remainder of his coaching staff to be confirmed at a later date.
“I am very proud to have been given the honor of leading the England team,” said Tuchel. “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 [Bullingham, FA CEO] and John [McDermott, technical director], for their trust and I am looking forward to starting our journey together.”
Tuchel was appointed after what the English FA describe as a “extensive recruitment search which began in July,” multiple candidates being interviewed before the 51-year-old’s appointment was ratified last week, his contract signed on Oct 8.
Tuchel arrives at England with a rich history of success, particularly in cup competitions, even if he bears the recent scars of being the man under whom Bayern Munich’s streak of 11 straight Bundesliga titles ended. He still has one of those to his name with the Bavarians, two French titles with Paris Saint-Germain and a string of domestic cup triumphs. Most impressive of all, however, might be the way in which he turned Chelsea from midtable scrappers to Champions League winners over the course of four months in early 2021, a period where Tuchel also developed a deep affection for life in London.
At Wembley, Tuchel’s job will be straightforward. End 60 years of hurt. Win a major trophy for England. It is the prize that twice slipped just out of Gareth Southgate’s reach before he resigned after the Euro 2024 final. His temporary successor Lee Carsley never spoke with the conviction of a man who expected to be raised up from the Under-21s — indeed he might well have known that Tuchel had already been appointed when his side lost to Greece in Thursday’s Nations League game — with England laser focused on a serial winner.
“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,” said Bullingham. “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.”
