by Mick the Ram

Former Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel has agreed to become the next England head coach on an 18 month deal.

He has been tasked with leading the country through qualification for the 2026 World Cup taking place in the US, Canada and Mexico and making a genuine attempt at winning the trophy for what would be sixty years since they last achieved it.

The 51-year-old succeeds Gareth Southgate who quit after the Three Lions lost to Spain in the final of the Euros in the summer.

Since leaving Bayern Munich at the end of last season he has effectively been on gardening leavebut the German club are not expected to demand compensation.

Lee Carsley, who the Football Association promoted temporarily from his role as Under 21’s chief, will remain in place for England’s final two Nations League matches against Greece and the Republic of Ireland in November.

Tuchel will then officially take over from 1 January 2025 and will become the third non-British permanent boss of the England men’s team, after Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.

Huge success at Chelsea

Tuchel is of course very familiar with English football having managed Chelsea between January 2021 and September 2022.

His time there was extremely successful, winning the Champions League, Fifa Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup.

The German was controversially sacked as the London club’s boss soon after leading them to glory in the Champions League and he remains a popular figure amongst their fanbase.

Previous experience could give him head start

He had come to prominence when he won the German Cup with Dortmund and two Ligue 1 titles at PSG, including a domestic treble in 2019-20.

After the great success at Chelsea his spell at Bayern did not go quite to plan, but his reputation remains intact and unlike Eriksson and Capello, his foreign predecessors as England coach, his time in London means he has first-hand experience of the English game and the players available to him.

He has been labelled a “control freak”, but also as “charming” and an “incredible coach” and it is likely all of these traits will be used as he gets his feet under the table.

Carsley expected to return to Under 21’s

Lee Carsley has so far overseen three victories and one defeat, but that loss at home to Greece set the alarm bells ringing and the interim boss even admitted he was looking forward to returning to his position as Under 21’s manager.

“Privileged” position

Tuchel showed his sense of humour when at his press conference, he apologised for having a German passport.

He explained how he was first sounded out about the position over the phone back in August and he decided to accept the role after two subsequent meetings.

“I think always the job you are in is the biggest job and it makes no sense to compare, but it feels big and feels like a privilege,” Tuchel said when asked about the size of the role he was taking on.

Completely focused

He assured everyone that he will bring “passion” to the job and try to install “values, principles and rules as quickly as possible to make the dream come true for the team and its supporters.”

Speaking about the players he called them an “amazing generation” who he remarked played in the best leagues in the world, so in his words “there is no reason to be afraid”.

When asked why the contract was so short (18 months) he confessed that is was in actual fact his idea, saying it would allow him to “demand more from himself” and “not lose focus”.

Serial winner

There is the potential for criticism of the FA in some quarters for appointing another foreign boss and even more so that he is from Germany, who are traditionally regarded as one of England’s biggest football rivals.

Nevertheless, what is for certain are Tuchel’s impressive credentials as a serial winner.