BREAKING: Thomas Tuchel speaks for first time after being confirmed as new England manager

Former Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel has been appointed as the new England manager on an 18-month deal and has since spoken out on the move into international management

Thomas Tuchel has hailed the "honour" of being appointed England boss after being named as Gareth Southgate's replacement.

Speaking after the appointment was made official on Wednesday, the German 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. 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.

"Working closely with Anthony as my assistant coach, we will do everything we can to make England successful and the supporters proud. I want to thank the FA, in particular Mark and John, for their trust and I am looking forward to starting our journey together.”

FA CEO Mark Bullingham has also explained why they chose to go with Tuchel. He 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.

"Before the EUROs we had a contingency plan and outlined exactly the qualities we would be looking for in a coach. 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. He will now focus on retaining the U21 EURO title in the summer. These are exciting times for England fans at senior and MU21 level, and we look forward to welcoming Thomas and Anthony when they begin work in January."

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