Football
Thomas Tuchel has been appointed England head coach and will take on the role from January 1, 2025; in his first press conference he made clear his aim to win the World Cup, refused to confirm Harry Kane would remain as captain, said he was undecided on singing the anthem and more…
By Peter Smith and Nick Wright
Wednesday 16 October 2024 15:12, UK
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Thomas Tuchel was unveiled as England boss on Wednesday afternoon – but what did we learn from the German in his first press conference about his ambitions, selection plans and more?
The era of simply looking for positive performances at major tournaments is over. However realistic it is, Tuchel has been hired to win the World Cup and he seems perfectly comfortable with the demands of that remit.
Two major finals and a World Cup semi-final. Gareth Southgate has set the bar pretty high for his successor. With his contract just 18 months long, the 2026 World Cup will be must-win.
Tuchel, who repeatedly referenced making “our dream” come true in America and adding a second star to England’s shirt, to signify a second World Cup win, said: “The target is nothing else but the biggest one in world football.”
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It came as something of a surprise that the FA revealed in its Tuchel announcement press release that the German had signed on the dotted line on October 8. This process, because of its confidentiality, has been shrouded in mystery.
So it was intriguing to learn the FA had interviewed 10 candidates. Who may they have been? It was confirmed by FA CEO Mark Bullingham that some of them were English.
However, he did not answer whether Tuchel was the only person the job was offered to. “Some were more up for the role than others. We were delighted to end up with Thomas. And we believe it gives us the best chance of winning the World Cup, we believe we’ve got the best candidate for the job.”
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Read into that what you will…
Tuchel has signed an 18-month contract with the FA which will take him through to the 2026 World Cup but no further. However, while that appears to only give him one crack at glory in this role he hinted there is a possibility the deal could be extended if things go well.
“Let’s see,” he said. “It’s 18 months then we agreed to sit together. I have good experience with 18 months personally! Unfortunately also sometimes! I’m working on my long-term game,” he joked, referencing his spells at clubs often being cut short.
“In this particular case it was important to have a frame around it because it’s a little bit of a step into the unknown for me. I am used to working on a daily basis with the staff, the team, and influence on 60-80 people on a training camp, three days a week away in hotel rooms preparing matches. This will be very different.
“It will help us to focus on the qualification and World Cup. It will help us with the communication to the players and staff. We’re here to work on the best possible outcome for World Cup 2026 and then let’s see, whatever comes, comes.”
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Lee Carsley’s decision not to sing England’s national anthem, as a former Republic of Ireland international, prompted outcry in certain quarters ahead of his first game as interim boss. It remains to be seen, though, whether Tuchel will follow suit. He is, he says, undecided.
“I understand from Mark it’s a personal decision and there are managers who sang it and others who didn’t,” he said during the press conference. “I have not made my decision yet.”
He was, however, eager to talk up the power of the anthem having heard it sung on several occasions while in charge of Chelsea, adding that his respect for the role and the country should not be measured by whether or not he decides to sing it.
“Your anthem is very moving. I experienced it several times here at Wembley, it was very touching,” he said. “No matter what decision I take, I will always show my respect to my new role, the country and a very moving anthem.”
Confirmation one way or the other may not come until his first game in charge in March, when England open their qualifying campaign for the following year’s World Cup.
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Tuchel offered no assurances to Harry Kane that he would stay England captain, although he did talk up his admiration for the 31-year-old having taken him to Bayern Munich.
“It’s too early to answer these kind of questions,” he said when asked about Kane’s captaincy. “You know how highly I think of Harry and how much I fought to bring him to Bayern.
“He is already on his way to be a legend in English football but now it’s also very important to give the respect to Lee [Carsley] and upcoming camp in November to take his decisions without me interfering. We will answer this question in March at the latest.”
Kane was unable to win silverware during his first season at Bayern but did enjoy a prolific season in front of goal under Tuchel, smashing 44 goals in 45 games in all competitions and top scoring in both the Bundesliga and Champions League.
Their admiration is mutual and, captain or not, Kane should be well-placed to thrive under a head coach who has got the best out of him before.
How do you improve a team which has reached back-to-back Euros finals? Tuchel believes his experience in club football – where he has won a Champions League and titles in Germany and France – could be the answer.
For all of Southgate’s excellent work with the national team, Tuchel has had far greater success in the club game and while he is now stepping away from the day-to-day intricacies of those roles, he believes there are qualities he can bring from that arena to the Three Lions set-up.
“They are there. We are there. The group of players proved they are there,” he said about England’s standing on the international stage and prospects of challenging for the World Cup. “The consistency is impressive and it shows we have players who compete in the strongest league in the world day in, day out.
“We have the ingredients and we fully trust that this is the moment to install from club football patterns, behaviours, principles that can maybe help to push the team over the line.
“We will need luck, we will need momentum, we will need to be lucky we don’t have injuries and so on and little decisions within the game. But we feel confident to add something from our experience in club football that can maybe help.
“Most important – even if we speak openly now about the target of the second star – we have to prove ourselves all the time. We need to show it in qualification and then build an atmosphere with the supporters and country that special things can happen.”
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Tuchel’s nationality was a theme at the press conference but, having jokingly apologised for having a German passport, he was eager to talk up his love of English football.
“Everyone has their opinion and I can understand when someone says they would fancy an English coach more for the English team,” he said in response to one question on the subject.
“I can understand it, but I think we deserve a fair chance. We deserve it for having a good record, for never being shy of how much we love living here and working with Premier League players.
“Maybe this counts a little bit for a British edge on my German passport, so we will try to convince [the fans] by results and how we play.”
He added: “All of these supporters felt my passion for the Premier League and the country. I loved to live here.
“Hopefully I can show them that I am proud to be the English manager and I will do everything to show respect to this job and this country.”
Those bizarre performances in front of the press from Carsley have finally been given some context. The interim boss made a right muddle answering questions about whether he would want the permanent role – but it turned out he may well have known all along that Tuchel had already been appointed.
It was revealed in the FA’s press release confirming the Tuchel news that the German had signed his contract with them on October 8. It said this was not announced so as not to detract from the Nations League performances under Carsley – but served to put Carsley in an unenviable and difficult position.
He will be returning to a more familiar one in the New Year, tasked with retaining the U21s Euros title but first he has to win England’s final two Nations League games to try to secure automatic promotion back to the top tier of that competition. In this press conference he was thanked for his work as interim boss.
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