The English FA has confirmed the appointment of Thomas Tuchel as the new permanent national team manager, he is set to take the reigns from Lee Carsley in January 2025 on an 18-month contract with Anthony Barry taking on the role of assistant head coach.
It is an appointment which has split opinion across the nation, some feeling that the role should be exclusive to an Englishman whereas others see it as a real statement of intent from the FA, getting a proven and world-class manager.
On his appointment, Tuchel said:
"I am very proud to have been given the honour of leading the England team.
"I have long felt a personal connection to the game in this country, and it has given me some incredible moments already... The opportunity to work with this special and talented group of players is very exciting."
Tuchel will be just the third overseas manager to take control of the England National Team, following in the footsteps of Fabio Capello and the late Sven-Göran Eriksson.
However, Tuchel's focus will be set on becoming just the second England manager to deliver the nation a major international trophy, with Sir Alf Ramsey being the only manager to do so to date. That being the 1966 World Cup.
Carsley will remain as the interim manager for the rest of this calendar year before leaving the role with the hopes of returning to manage the England U21s where he won the Under 21s Euros in 2023.
Carsley's tenure as the first-team manager started like a house on fire with a 2-0 win over The Republic of Ireland in Dublin. A game in which both Declan Rice and Jack Grealish scored first half goals.
Harry Kane's 100th England appearance was also during Carsley's stint against Finland at Wembley Stadium, in which the striker marked the occasion with a brace.
A shock, last-minute loss to Greece was followed by a 3-1 win in Finland during this international break. Carsley is set to take charge of just two more games as interim manager in November against Greece and The Republic of Ireland.
Tuchel has a proven track record at the top level of club management, especially in knockout football. He has won trophies at all of his last four clubs; Borrusia Dortmund, PSG, Chelsea and Bayern Munich.
Whilst at Borrusia Dortmund, Tuchel won the DFB Pokal in 2017 against Eintracht Frankfurt, winning 2-1 and also defeating German powerhouse Bayern Munich 3-2 in the semi final.
At PSG, Tuchel won the league in consecutive seasons in 2018/19 and 2019/20. In 2019/20, the French side reached the Champions League final for the first and only time in their history under Tuchel and only lost out to Bayern Munich in the final.
It was a narrow 1-0 loss in the final despite Bayern Munich winning 3-0 twice, 8-2 and 4-1 in the lead up to the final which is a testament to Tuchel's time in France.
The most success that Tuchel had was during his time in England. During this time he won the Champions League with an average Chelsea side who also went on to win the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup following the Champions League victory over Pep Guardiola's Manchester City in the final.
Also during his Chelsea stint, Tuchel reached consecutive FA Cup finals but lost out 1-0 to Leicester in 2021 and on penalties after a 0-0 draw with Liverpool in 2022.
Also, in 2022, Chelsea lost out to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final on penalties after a 0-0 draw.
Last season, Tuchel took charge of Bayern Munich, where he took a struggling side to the Champions League semi-final and narrowly lost out to eventual winners Real Madrid. Tuchel's side was a matter of minutes away from reaching the final if it was not for an 88th minute equaliser and a 91st minute winner from the opposition, both scored by Joselu.
The new England manager has shown his ability in knock-out competitions, reaching the Champions League final twice and winning multiple other tournaments.
Tuchel will take charge of the 2026 World Cup in North America in what will be his first international tournament of his career.
England fans will hope that Tuchel can take England that one step further than Gareth Southgate managed and win a tournament.
England have reached the last two EUROS finals, losing narrowly on both occasions to Italy in 2021 and Spain this summer.
