Former Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel has been appointed England manager from 1 January 2025.
The 51-year-old German tactician, who has signed an 18-month contract, becomes the third non-British permanent manager of the men’s team after Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.
The last England manager, Gareth Southgate resigned in July after England’s defeat by Spain in the Euro 2024 final.
Meanwhile, Lee Carsley, who has led the Four Lions for four games since being appointed interim manager in August, will remain in charge for the Nations League matches against Greece and the Republic of Ireland next month.
In his response to his appointment, Tuchel said: “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.”
Chief executive Mark Bullingham said the Football Association had appointed “one of the best coaches in the world”.
He said: “Thomas and the team have a single-minded focus on giving us the best possible chance to win the World Cup in 2026.”
There has been mixed reactions to Tuchel’s appointment, former Manchester United and former England full-back, Gary Neville has criticised the choice of the German tactician. Neville who was capped 85 times, opined that there is an element of disappointment that England’s top job has gone to an international manager, and that the decision feels “instinctive” not “strategic”.
He said: “I do think we are damaging ourselves accepting Thomas Tuchel is better than any of the other English coaches.
“We are in a rut when it comes to English coaching. English coaching is one of the least respected big nations in Europe when it comes to taking charge of a football team. Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese coaches are renowned for their styles of play, for their philosophy.
“We don’t have a clear identity as an English nation of what we are anymore. We haven’t built a style, we haven’t got a coach who’s built a style that’s unique to us.”
On his part, former Liverpool and Real Madrid forward , Michael Owen described Tuchel as a ‘top quality’ coach, adding that he was a ‘proven winner with a great understanding of the English game’.
Tuchel has a glittering CV at club level – winning 11 major trophies whilst managing Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, PSG and Bayern.
Former managers Sam Allardyce and Harry Redknapp were just some of the high-profile names within the football world who were disappointed by the FA’s announcement.
Allardyce, who managed England for one game in 2016, said the country’s governing body had ‘gone against’ what they had been building in the last eight years under Southgate – who left the job after the heartbreaking Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain .
And Redknapp, who was once a favorite to manage the national team whilst working at Tottenham in 2012, felt the Tuchel had not been a ‘massive success’ in his previous roles.
Redknapp told Sky Sports: ‘I wanted an Englishman to manage England. I’m very patriotic and I think we should have an English manager.
‘But the field was very small to choose from because Englishmen don’t get jobs managing in the Premier League very often now. All the clubs are owned by foreign owners and they bring a foreign manager in.’
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