The English Football Association (FA) has officially appointed former Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel as the successor to Gareth Southgate.
The 51-year-old German manager, has signed an 18-month contract to lead the England national team. He becomes the third non-British permanent manager of the men’s team, following in the footsteps of Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.
Tuchel’s appointment comes after Gareth Southgate’s resignation in July following England’s defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final. Lee Carsley, who has served as interim manager since August, will continue to lead the team for the upcoming Nations League matches against Greece and the Republic of Ireland.
“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,” FA CEO Mark Bullingham said in a statement.
Tuchel has been out of work since his departure from Bayern Munich in May 2024, following a series of disappointing results that ultimately led to his dismissal. The position was subsequently filled by Vincent Kompany.
The Three Lions announced Tuchel’s appointment on Wednesday, with renowned English coach Anthony Barry, a former colleague at Chelsea and Bayern, serving as his assistant.
Tuchel put pen to paper on his contract on Tuesday 8 October and will take the reins on 1 January 2025 ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification process.