LONDON — Thomas Tuchel starts work as England manager on Jan. 1, and his mission could not be clearer: win the 2026 World Cup.
England’s 5-0 win over Republic of Ireland on Sunday ensured promotion back to UEFA Nations League A and, significantly, it means Tuchel can begin his England tenure with World Cup qualifiers in March rather than a messy play-off in a different competition.
Tuchel’s short 18-month contract points to the single-minded focus on all sides. England reached back-to-back Euros finals under Gareth Southgate and interim boss Lee Carsley secured five wins from his six matches in charge. The scoreline at Wembley — delivered through goals from Harry Kane, Anthony Gordon, Conor Gallagher, Jarrod Bowen and Taylor Harwood-Bellis — suggests England are progressing nicely.
But Tuchel will have multiple issues to resolve when he starts work next year. So, let’s takes a look at what is likely to dominate his thoughts as England aim to end what will be a 60-year wait for silverware in 2026.
What to do with Harry Kane?
Kane’s 53rd-minute penalty was a record-extending 69th international goal and came at the end of a week in which he had plenty to say about the commitment levels required to play for England.
The 31-year-old expressed his disappointment at the number of withdrawals this month, citing the need for England to maintain the positive culture cultivated by Southgate and effectively suggesting nobody can pick and choose when to play for England. Sources have told ESPN that some connected to the England team believe that this was, at least in part, a response to some of the criticism Kane took at the Euros, when he looked short of his best but started every game in their run to the final.
Kane’s loyalty to England has never been questioned — but his place in the team has been of late. The captain’s public declaration that England is for life, not just the summer, was a reminder of his authority, status and longevity.
It must be said, however, that after being rested in favour of Ollie Watkins against Greece, Kane was a peripheral figure as England struggled to break Ireland down in the first half. Liam Scales‘ 51st-minute red card — a second yellow card for bringing down Jude Bellingham in the box — removed any jeopardy from the contest and undermines any possible takeaways from the flurry of goals that followed, aside from the high it enables Carsley to go out on.
Tuchel’s personal desire to sign Kane for Bayern from Tottenham last summer suggests his appointment will be a positive for England’s all-time leading goalscorer. However, Watkins continues to press for game-time while Dominic Solanke will offer genuine competition if he thrives at Tottenham.
Both Watkins and Solanke offer genuine pace and dynamism as opposed to Kane’s preference to drop deep and link play. Tuchel is tactically versatile and must decide on a clear gameplan which will either play to Kane’s strengths or not. For example, a front-foot, high-press team like the one he created at Chelsea would not appear compatible with Kane’s skillset. In his managerial career, Tuchel has used a 4-2-3-1 shape on the most occasions (130). Next is 4-3-3 (62) and third is 3-4-2-1 (56).
Identify leaders and maintain the England team’s culture
Changing Southgate for Tuchel means England have upgraded in terms of tactical acumen — but there is always a danger that more could be lost in the transition.
Southgate reconnected the team with the country and players developed a genuine appetite for international football again, buying into what could be possible rather than baulking at the fear of failure. Kane alluded to this in his comments earlier this week, pointing out a positive culture “takes a long time to build and maybe not so long to lose” and Tuchel will need to galvanise the group quickly.
A new manager will sharpen minds, but Tuchel will likely be aware that rumours persisted of internal issues in the England camp at Euro 2024. Southgate’s leadership group at that tournament comprised Kane, Declan Rice, Bellingham and Kyle Walker.
It would be simple for Tuchel to retain that quartet given all four will expect to go to the World Cup but he may look to stamp his own authority on the team by making changes. Jordan Pickford is an obvious candidate given his affinity with England and 73-cap experience while Bukayo Saka captained Arsenal on occasion during Martin Odegaard’s spell out through injury.
Taking control in the midfield
In the 76th minute of the Euro 2024 final with the scores tied at 1-1, Spain were wobbling. Cole Palmer had just equalised and England enjoyed a period of sustained possession shortly after the restart, earning a throw-in level with the penalty spot with Kyle Walker ready to take.
Phil Foden and Ollie Watkins were in the area. Bukayo Saka darted in there too, followed by Declan Rice. Palmer showed for it down by the corner flag.
Eschewing all those options, Walker wound himself up and hurled the ball back towards the halfway line, where John Stones turned and played it further back to goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. Pickford then launched it upfield, straight out of play for a goal kick.
“We definitely had an opportunity to keep the ball in that area of the pitch but we played backwards and then there was a long period after that where we didn’t get the ball again,” said Southgate in discussing that curious passage of play.
“There was a turning point if you like within that. But I think in the main, at the end of the game, the physical issues that we had probably took their toll. There were four or five players that we ideally would have refreshed at that point.”
Southgate deserves immense credit for establishing England as a dangerous force in major tournaments but there was a longstanding familiar pattern in the biggest matches that he was unable to break.
In short, England are not sufficiently adept in possession when it matters most. They came agonisingly close, most obviously when losing the Euro 2020 final on penalties and, to a lesser extent, when France edged a game of fine margins at the quarter-final stage of World Cup 2022.
A through-line in England’s tournament exits under Southgate was an inability to control the game for long enough: 1-0 up against Croatia in the 2018 World Cup semi-final, 1-0 up against Italy in the Euro 2020 final and against Spain this summer, they were palpably inferior in possession throughout.
It is easy to understand why Southgate sought to explain that moment outlined above by fatigue; many of his predecessors have lamented the draining effect of the Premier League which Michel Platini described best as England resembling “lions in the winter and lambs in the summer.”
There won’t be much Tuchel can do about the schedule but it is interesting in this context that both Carsley and Harry Kane have cited a desire to exert more sustained influence over matches.
“Lee has come in and done a fantastic job with firstly the way we wanted to play and having more control of games,” said Kane on Saturday.
In truth, England needed Scales’ red card to make their control count against Ireland. There was plenty to like about the authority they showed when the stakes were at their highest in Athens but England still lack the midfield metronome that dictates the rhythm of so many top international sides, be it Rodri with Spain, Frenkie De Jong of the Netherlands or Marco Verratti and Jorginho of Italy.
Gomes was an intriguing option in this regard, impressing in September’s 2-0 win over Finland but with Rice out due to injury, Carsley opted for Conor Gallagher as a number six this month with Jones advancing his case against both Greece — where he scored a sublime third — and Ireland.
Decide on the best young players
Both Tuchel and the FA have made it pretty clear that the German manager is here for a good time, not a long time. The rationale for signing a short-term contract, in Tuchel’s words, was that “something that can really excite me to the fullest was the timeframe of 18 months and to also demand from myself to not lose the focus, for all of us.”
Talk of pathways and development will take a backward seat from January. Tuchel’s sole goal is to win the 2026 World Cup and he will be single-minded in that aim, not diluting his approach by blooding youngsters with an eye on the future.
Carsley’s brief tenure has been helpful in that regard. He handed debuts to Curtis Jones, Noni Madueke, Lewis Hall, Angel Gomes, Morgan Rogers and Morgan Gibbs-White before adding Tino Livramento and Taylor Harwood-Bellis to that list against Ireland. What began as a furore over the number of withdrawals should probably end as an advert for the strength in depth England possess in so many good positions. Carsley played to his own strengths by leaning on the players he had worked with as Under-21s boss.
Tuchel isn’t likely to follow suit but Madueke and Jones in particular pressed their claims that they could be ready for this next tournament cycle.
Carsley made the point in Greece that England’s success at youth level — most recently winning the European Under-21’s Championship last year — has created a generation of players who expect to win when they play international football. That can only aid Tuchel in developing a team capable of thriving in the biggest moments.
Settling the left-back position
Southgate’s commitment to Luke Shaw at left-back transitioned from admirable and understandable to downright frustrating as time went on.
Selecting a player palpably short of match fitness for Euro 2024 — the Manchester United defender had not kicked a ball since February due to a hamstring injury — and no natural understudy made England needlessly imbalanced in the summer. Kieran Trippier, now retired from international football, valiantly did his best and Shaw was deemed fit enough to start the final but the need to nail down a long-term option is obvious. Shaw could still be that — he is only 29 — but his injury problems have continued into this season and Tuchel may well look elsewhere.
To underline the lack of a hierarchy in that position, Carsley started four different players at left-back in his six games: Levi Colwill, Rico Lewis, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Lewis Hall, whose full debut came against Ireland on Sunday. Lewis was probably the most exciting performer during this autumn run — drifting infield from full-back to help overload Greece in particular — but Hall gave a more natural balance to the line-up.
Tuchel enjoyed a good relationship with Ben Chilwell during their time together at Chelsea and he may come into the equation if he can regain form and fitness at Stamford Bridge. Tuchel could use wing-backs, which could mean Bukayo Saka is becomes an option there, giving England a chance to shoehorn another attacking player into the team.