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Thomas Tuchel looks ahead to England’s World Cup qualifying campaign. (0:57)
Thomas Tuchel has officially begun as England men’s national team coach on an 18-month contract that runs until the end of the 2026 World Cup.
Tuchel’s appointment as Gareth Southgate’s successor was confirmed by the English Football Association in October but with a start date of Jan. 1, 2025. He will be assisted by Anthony Barry who he worked alongside at Chelsea and Bayern Munich.
Former Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain manager Tuchel was present in early December at the 2026 World Cup qualifying draw where he saw England placed in a group alongside Serbia, Albania, Latvia and Andorra.
Following the draw he said: “I have huge respect for Serbia and Albania. They can always surprise. They have a strong history of technical football, an emotional crowd and emotional players. They have two famous ex-players as coaches so we should be very aware of that.
“England has never played Latvia so this is a new experience for all of us, and then of course we have Andorra where we are huge favourites.
“But we have to qualify, this is the most important thing, this is where all the focus goes. There cannot be any other approach but to take it seriously, take it with respect and make it happen before we can bring the dream.
“England has the players and the characteristics to go far. But now we have to prove it in the qualifiers. The gaps between the big nations closes all the time, in every tournament you see the same effect that it gets more and more difficult to win your games. First of all we have to show full respect and make sure we reach our top level from March.”
Tuchel’s opening fixture in charge will be home games against Albania and Latvia on March 21 and 24 at Wembley.
Tuchel has won 11 major honours including the 2021 Champions League with a Chelsea side that featured several England internationals including Reece James, Ben Chilwell and Mason Mount, who has since joined Manchester United. Tuchel also worked with England captain Harry Kane at Bayern before his departure at the end of last season.
He takes the reins from interim boss Lee Carsley, who won five of his six matches after assuming temporary control following Southgate’s departure.
After seeing Southgate, who was knighted in the New Year’s honours list on Monday, lead England to a World Cup semifinal in 2018 Carsley said Tuchel can go all the way in 2026 at the tournament in North America.
“I think we are in a good position to do that,” Carsley said. “We have the talent to do it.
“I have been lucky now to be at the last couple of World Cups and the timing of the players being in form, physically and mentally, at the right time, picking the right squad.
“We have got all of the tools. We just need to play them in the order … We just have to find that balance.”
England’s men’s side have not won the World Cup, or any other major trophy, since 1966.
Information from James Olley was used in this report.
