England appoint Thomas Tuchel as head coach, with Lee Carsley set for U21 return

THOMAS TUCHEL HAS been confirmed as England’s new head coach.

The former Chelsea, Paris St Germain and Bayern Munich manager becomes the third non-Englishman to hold the post after Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.

The 51-year-old, who will be assisted by English coach Anthony Barry, will take up the role on 1 January ahead of the World Cup qualifying campaign.

Barry, who was Stephen Kenny’s assistant with the Ireland national team for a spell, has previously worked with Tuchel at Chelsea and Bayern Munich and is currently assistant to Portugal boss Roberto Martinez.

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A Football Association statement revealed Tuchel signed a contract on 8 October before the latest round of international fixtures but the announcement was delayed to “minimise distraction around the international camp”.

Prior to Thursday’s home defeat by Greece, interim head coach Lee Carsley had widely been considered the favourite to land the job on a permanent basis.

Carsley will remain in charge for the final round of Nations League matches next month against Greece and Ireland before returning to his role as U21 boss.

 “I am very proud to have been given the honour of leading the England team,” Tuchel said.

“I have long felt a personal connection to the game in this country, and it has given me some incredible moments already.

“To have the chance to represent England is a huge privilege, and the opportunity to work with this special and talented group of players is very exciting.”

FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said: “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.

“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.

“I would like to thank Lee for stepping up and doing everything we asked of him – he is a very talented coach and a major part of our England pathway.”