THOMAS Tuchel said he was “very proud” after being appointed as England’s new head coach.
Former Chelsea boss Tuchel, 51, has signed an eighteen-month contract to succeed Gareth Southgate. Tuchel will be assisted by Anthony Barry, whom he worked with at Chelsea and Bayern Munich.
Tuchel led Chelsea to the Champions League, Uefa Super Cup and Club World Cup titles in 2021 before winning the Bundesliga with Bayern in 2022-23.
Tuchel also won the German Cup with Borussia Dortmund and two Ligue 1 titles and the French Cup with Paris Saint-German.
He was voted Uefa and Fifa coach of the year in 2021.
The Football Association said they had conducted “an extensive recruitment search” for Southgate’s successor and Tuchel signed his contract on October 8 but the official announcement was delayed to avoid distraction from England’s Nations League games under interim head coach Lee Carsley.
The recruitment process including interviews was led by FA CEO Mark Bullingham and men’s technical director John McDermott.
Tuchel will officially start working with the squad from January 1 ahead of the start of qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the USA next March.
Carsley will continue in charge for the November Nations League fixtures before returning to his role as head coach of the under-21s.
German Tuchel is England’s third permanent boss after Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.
“I am very proud to have been given the honour of leading the England team,” Tuchel said. “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.”
Barry added: “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.”
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 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 Under-21 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.”
