Taking office in January
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It’s official: Thomas Tuchel has a new job just three and a half months after leaving FC Bayern. The 51-year-old is expected to lead the English national team to the 2026 World Cup title. The English FA officially confirmed the German’s signature until the tournament in the USA and Mexico. The term begins on January 1, 2025, and interim coach Lee Carsley will be on the sidelines again during the upcoming international break in November.
Tuchel follows Gareth Southgate at the Three Lions, who has had a points average of 2.08 and reached the European Championship final twice during his tenure since September 2016, but remained without a title. In two years, the 60-year dry spell for a major trophy should end with Tuchel, who won almost all major trophies as a club coach, but did not have an easy time at his last stop in Munich.
At FC Bayern, Tuchel had to leave after 15 months and with a points average of 1.95 after the 2023/24 season ended without a title for the first time since 2011/12. After the summer exit announced in February, he was reportedly persuaded to stay on in May, but declined. It is unclear whether the contract, which runs until 2025, has been terminated. The “Bild” reported in the spring about an agreement on a severance payment, but according to current information from “Sky”, the former Mainz and BVB coach was still under contract at Säbener Straße in the autumn.
A change could therefore take place without a transfer fee, meaning Bayern would save their salary until the end of the season. In Munich, Tuchel reportedly earned between 10 million and 12 million euros annually, and when he takes office in England on January 1st, the German record champion will save around 5 to 6 million euros. Around half of the salary is now at the FA: there is talk of around 4.5 million to 5 million pounds, the equivalent of 5.4 million to 6 million euros.
Thomas Tuchel becomes England coach: reunion with Kane, Guardiola declined
At the England national team, Tuchel meets several familiar faces from his former positions. Captain Harry Kane (31) scored 42 times in 44 games in his first year at Bayern under his new national coach and a whole range of professionals around Reece James, Mason Mount, Ben Chilwell and Tammy Abraham won the Champions League with Chelsea FC in 2020 -Winners – although some of them have not been nominated for the Three Lions for a long time.
Tuchel is the third foreign coach to take over the job at the FA after the late Swede Sven-Göran Eriksson (2000 to 2006) and the Italian Fabio Capello (2008 to 2012). With a points average of 2.0 and 2.19, both were among the more successful trainers in the recent past; only Roy Hodgson (2012 to 2016) and Southgate (2016 to 2024) stayed in office longer since the 1990s.
Tuchel’s biggest rival, Pep Guardiola, was also not English. The Spaniard, who has been under contract with Manchester City since 2016 and has recently been repeatedly linked with a move, was considered the favorite for the position, according to the English media. However, according to The Athletic, he declined the offer.
