Thomas Tuchel believes England are ready to end what will be 60 years of hurt at the next World Cup.
The Football Association’s chief executive Mark Bullingham feels the 51-year-old German can be the man to get England “over the line” in a major tournament, after two near-misses under his predecessor Gareth Southgate.
Tuchel has been given an 18-month contract with the sole target of securing World Cup glory for the first time since 1966, and believes he has all the right ingredients to work with.
“Gareth Southgate and the FA did a fantastic job in terms of stability and consistency,” Tuchel said at his unveiling press conference at Wembley.
“Look at the results in the last tournaments – quarter-final, semi-final and two finals in the last four tournaments. It’s outstanding
“The under-21s won titles, the young teams compete to win titles, the women’s team won titles, so we are there and the federation is there.
“One of the big reasons (for taking the job) was the knowledge and the quality of the federation – to have that at my side – and combine it with my ideas and build on everything Gareth Southgate and the FA built, and hopefully we can add a little bit extra to get us over the line.
"I strongly believe that we can do this together." ❤️ pic.twitter.com/ULC53elJsn
— England (@England) October 16, 2024
“The offer came at absolutely the right time. We found a vision to share and an adventure that I’m very happy to be a big part of.
“Now I have to live up to it, of course, and I know there are some trophies missing in the federation. Of course I want to help to make it happen.”
Tuchel knows what it is like to lose a big final – the 2020 Champions League with Paris St Germain – but also what it takes to win one – in the same competition with Chelsea a year later.
That tournament pedigree will have been a big factor in attracting the FA to Tuchel, but the German said it was not his place to say why England had just fallen short at the last two Euros.
He added: “It’s just nuances, it’s just details. If you lose on penalties in a final, who would I be to say I know what you did wrong when you were there?
“Each of them could have gone either way. The genuine belief is that we are there, that we are ready.”
Bullingham said he and technical director John McDermott had interviewed “approximately 10” candidates for the job, including some from England, but ultimately opted to appoint just the third overseas coach of the men’s team.
Bullingham insisted the English coaching development system was a “success” but admitted the country was “not quite in that place” where it had a handful of realistic homegrown contenders for the national team job.
