Thomas Tuchel officially named new England manager in historic move as ex-Chelsea & Bayern Munich boss is trusted to oversee bid for 2026 World Cup glory

The Football Association confirmed on Wednesday that Tuchel has been appointed as the new manager of the England national team. The German coach has signed an 18-month contract that runs until the end of the 2026 World Cup which will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Tuchel succeeds Gareth Southgate and will start work with the Three Lions on January 1, 2025 alongside assistant Anthony Barry.

England will be hoping Tuchel can fire the team to glory after seeing Southgate lead the Three Lions to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and the finals of both the 2020 and 2024 European Championship. The FA's first choice for the job had reportedly been Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, but the decision has been made to appoint Tuchel, who was available after leaving Bayern Munich in May. Tuchel arrives with a proven track record after winning titles during his time with Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern, but the England job is his first in international management.

He told the FA: "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.”

The FA's 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.
"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 is the third foreign coach to take charge of the England national team and the first from Germany. He follows Sweden's Sven-Goran Eriksson and Italian Fabio Capello in taking on the role.

The FA have also confirmed that Tuchel signed his contract on October 8, with the official announcement delayed so that there were no distractions for interim boss Lee Carsley during the latest round of Nations League matches.

Interim coach Lee Carsley will continue to manage England until Tuchel takes up the role at the start of 2025. England are due to play Greece and Ireland in Nations League matches in November, while Tuchel's first game in charge will be during the international break in March.