Thomas Tuchel appointed England manager LIVE! News, updates and reaction as former Chelsea boss confirmed
Thomas Tuchel appointed England manager – LIVE!
The FA have named Thomas Tuchel as the new England manager. Former Chelsea boss Tuchel has been confirmed as the permanent successor to Gareth Southgate and will lead the Three Lions to the 2026 World Cup.
The German becomes the third non-British manager of the England team after Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello. The 51-year-old has described his appointment as a “huge privilege” and says “the opportunity to work with this special and talented group of players is very exciting”.
Tuchel, who led Chelsea to Champions League glory in 2021 and has been out of work since leaving Bayern Munich at the end of last season, will start work on January 1 and will be joined by his assistant Anthony Barry. Tuchel will be unveiled as a press conference at Wembley later on what is a huge day for English football. Follow all the updates, reaction and latest news LIVE with Standard Sport’s blog!
Thomas Tuchel appointed England manager latest news
Tuchel appointed England manager
German 'proud' to take role, starts in January
Press conference scheduled at Wembley for 1.30pm BST
Tuchel to be assisted by Anthony Barry
Harry Kane hails "fantastic coach" Tuchel ahead of reunion
Tuchel's message to England fans
12:08
Thomas Tuchel has recorded a video message to the England fans after being named manager of the national side.
In a post on England’s Twitter page, Tuchel said: “Hi guys, Thomas here. Quite a bit nervous it’s my first message as the English head coach. I’m at Wembley, where else? And there’s also a reason to be a bit nervous. I think that’s a good thing.
“I can promise you I’m very excited and very honoured and I will do everything that we can to qualify for the World Cup first of all and then we have a successful World Cup and try to get a second star on our shirt.
“All the best and see you soon in the stadium.”
Carsley to return to U21s ahead of Euros
12:01 , Jamie Dickenson
Lee Carsley is set to return to his previous role as England Under-21s coach when Thomas Tuchel takes charge of the senior side in January.
The Young Lions secured their place at the 2025 Under-21 Euros after thrashing Azerbaijan 7-0 in Bristol on Tuesday night.
Carsley will be looking to retain their title in Slovakia next summer after guiding the U21s to European success at the 2023 tournament where Anthony Gordon was named best player.
Lineker claims England contacted Ancelotti and Guardiola
11:50
Gary Lineker has suggested England contacted both Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola before appointing Thomas Tuchel.
Ancelotti’s contract at Real Madrid runs until the summer of 2026, while Guardiola’s Manchester City deal expires at the end of the season but he could sign a one-year extension.
Lineker said on The Rest is Football podcast: "They apparently did reach out in the summer to Pep Guardiola and I also understand that they spoke to Carlo Ancelotti.”
Alan Shearer added: "It’s happened so quickly, hasn’t it? We said the other day that there was perhaps a reason that Lee Carsley was ruling himself out and perhaps he knew something that we didn’t all know.
"I really hope that they have spoken to English managers. I am reliably told that they didn’t speak to Eddie Howe or sound him out at all. That is a big surprise for me because he would be the outstanding English candidate."
How will England play under Tuchel?
11:41 , Jamie Dickenson
Highly regarded for his tactical acumen, Standard Sport’s Dom Smith has taken a look at what England fans can expect under Thomas Tuchel.
Tuchel adopted a 4-2-3-1 system as his favoured formation when he was Bayern Munich manager, and this neatly matches the way England lined up in their final few years under Gareth Southgate, as well as how they have tended to play under Lee Carsley.
At Chelsea, he played predominantly with a back three and pushed full-backs Ben Chilwell and Reece James up high. The pair were the creative sparks in his side which won the Champions League in May 2021 shortly after he had taken over as manager.
It will be interesting to see whether Tuchel decides to rejuvenate their England careers and select a back-three, but with the players he will have available to him a back four looks, on the face it, more likely.
Click here to read the full story!
Tuchel's contract length not revealed
11:30 , Jamie Dickenson
There has been no details provided on the length of Thomas Tuchel’s contract with England.
The FA have provided no clues on how long Tuchel has signed on for with the Three Lions, but it is likely to run until the end of the 2026 World Cup at least.
England players will be 'excited'
11:25
Stephen Warnock believes England’s players will be ‘excited’ by the appointment of Thomas Tuchel.
The former Liverpool defender won two caps for England and was part of Fabio Capello’s squad at the 2010 World Cup.
Warnock told BBC Radio 5 Live Football Daily: “Thomas Tuchel has won trophies at the top level.
“If I’m a current England international and I hear Thomas Tuchel is getting the job, I’m excited by that because I’m thinking straight away, this is a guy who’s tactically very good and who also improves players, who doesn’t have any allegiance to players in any way.
“Looking at it from a players’ point of view, what do you want? I remember going to the World Cup, getting on the plane and Jamie Carragher turning around saying ‘If we win this we come back as legends’ and that’s what they’re trying to achieve, a legacy, to win something – they don’t care who’s at the helm.
“As long as it’s someone who gets them over the line, who’s got that ability to tactically change a game, to see games out towards the end then the players will be happy.”
Shearer's Man Utd theory on Tuchel
11:06 , Jamie Dickenson
Alan Shearer believes the FA acted quickly to bring in Thomas Tuchel because of the possibility that he could become Manchester United manager.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola had also been a name in the frame to succeed Gareth Southgate and former England striker Shearer told The Rest is Football podcast: "If they sounded out Pep, fine, he's the best manager in the world.
"You then have to look at what's available to you. They've looked at Thomas Tuchel and have thought there is a chance he could get the Manchester United job pretty soon.
"So the opportunity lies now. If they didn't act quick now they weren't going to get one of the outstanding candidates for the job."
Click here to read the full story!
England joint-second favourites to win 2026 World Cup
11:00
England have been made joint-second favourites to win the 2026 World Cup after Thomas Tuchel’s appointment.
World Cup 2026 Winner
Spain – 6/1
Brazil - 7/1
England – 7/1
France – 7/1
Argentina – 8/1
Germany – 10/1
Portugal – 14/1
Netherlands – 20/1
Odds provided by Betway
Why did Tuchel get the job?
10:54 , Jamie Dickenson
Thomas Tuchel will take charge of England after winning a host of trophies at club level.
He is widely regarded as a tactical innovator in modern football and is considered one of the best coaches in the world.
Tuchel won the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) as Borussia Dortmund manager, before taking the Paris Saint-Germain job and leading them to their first Champions League final in 2020, where they lost 2-1 to Bayern Munich.
The 51-year-old won two Ligue 1 titles during his time in Paris as well as the Coupe de France (French Cup) and Coupe de la Ligue (French League Cup).
He then led Chelsea to Champions League success in 2021, beating Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City 1-0 in the final - while he also won the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup with the Blues.
As Bayern manager he won the Bundesliga title in 2022/23 before leaving this summer despite taking the team to the Champions League semi-finals where they lost 4-3 on aggregate to Real Madrid.
The FA interviewed several candidates
10:42 , Jamie Dickenson
The FA have revealed they interviewed ‘several candidates’ before identifying Thomas Tuchel as their ‘preferred appointment’.
The extensive recruitment process to find Gareth Southgate’s successor began in July after England lost the Euro 2024 final to Spain.
FA CEO Mark Bullingham said: “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 [Carsley] 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 U21 level, and we look forward to welcoming Thomas and Anthony when they begin work in January.”
Kane hails Tuchel 'fantastic coach'
10:36
Harry Kane has hailed Thomas Tuchel as a “fantastic coach” ahead of their reunion with England.
Kane left Tottenham for Bayern Munich when Tuchel was in charge of the Germany giants and scored 44 goals in just 45 games in their only season together as well as registering 12 assists.
Speaking before Tuchel’s appointment as England boss was confirmed Kane told reporters: “To be honest, I don’t know, I haven’t been told anything.
“I know Thomas well from last year and [he’s a] fantastic coach and fantastic person, so I’m sure the guys at the FA will contact me when they know more about it.”
Anthony Barry appointed as assistant
10:20 , Jamie Dickenson
Anthony Barry has been appointed as Thomas Tuchel’s assistant at England.
Barry worked closely with Tuchel as Chelsea and Bayern Munich and has also served as an assistant for Portugal, Belgium and the Republic of Ireland.
The FA described the 38-year-old as “internationally renowned” in their statement.
Barry said: “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.”
Tuchel press conference at Wembley at 1.30pm
10:12 , Jamie Dickenson
Thomas Tuchel will be unveiled at a press conference at Wembley at 1.30pm this afternoon.
Tuchel will be in attendance alongside CEO of the FA Mark Bullingham.
We will bring you all the updates from that when it happens and in the meantime we’ll have all the latest updates, reaction and opinion to the big news.
Tuchel 'proud' to take over, starts role in January
10:06 , Jamie Dickenson
Thomas Tuchel has revealed his is ‘proud’ to be appointed as England manager and is set to start to his new role in January.
Tuchel signed his contract last Tuesday but the announcement was delayed to minimise distraction over England’s recent fixtures against Greece and Finland.
He brings his former assistant at Chelsea and Bayern Munich Anthony Barry with him.
“I am very proud to have been given the honour of leading the England team,” he said in a statement released by The FA.
“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] and John [McDermott], for their trust and I am looking forward to starting our journey together.”
Tuchel will start his role as England manager on January 1, 2025 ahead of qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
Lee Carsley will remain in charge for England’s final two Nations League games against Greece and Ireland next month.
Good morning!
09:55 , Giuseppe Muro
Hello and welcome to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of Thomas Tuchel being appointed England manager!
A huge day for English football as former Chelsea boss Tuchel is named as the permanent successor to Gareth Southgate.
The German becomes the third non-British manager of the England team after Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.
We’ll have all the latest news, updates and reaction ahead of his unveiling press conference at Wembley at 1.30pm BST from Wembley.
