Thomas Tuchel: England can reach higher gear and achieve target of winning World Cup

Thomas Tuchel is convinced he can push England to find a higher gear as he targets success at the 2026 World Cup.

Tuchel has been appointed England head coach on an 18-month contract from January 2025, with the sole focus on ending the nation's 60-year wait for a trophy in the USA.

England have finished runners-up at successive European championships under Gareth Southgate and reached the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2018 but could not get over the line under Tuchel's predecessor.

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Tuchel believes he has inherited a group ready to win from Southgate, but admits he sees room for improvement.

Asked if England have a fifth gear they have not yet reached, the new England head coach said: "Maybe even a sixth gear. Let's see where we are going. I think we have that. I am absolutely convinced that we have that.

"Besides the talent, I know we have the character in the players. I can't wait to work with them from March on the pitch. Hopefully with all the staff at St George's Park, we will push all the players to the limit."

Tuchel's brief as England head coach has been clearly defined as preparing a team capable of winning the World Cup in 2026. In his words, "let's see", after that.

It stands in stark contrast to the four-year deal handed to Southgate when he was appointed in November 2016, with an emphasis on building a culture for years to come.

The FA's more short-term approach to its latest hire is sure to create more scrutiny on Tuchel, who has already won the Champions League and French domestic treble as a club manager.

"The target is to win the World Cup, so I don't know if it is a failure [if we don't]," he said. "If we miss the target then we would have to talk about why we missed it.

"We speak about why we are here and what we want to achieve - we are not shy of it. It should be out here and then we can set the standards. Then we have to live up to it for 18 months.

"Let's judge when we have done it. If we decide it was a failure, we will not continue. If we decide it was not a failure then we will continue. Let's see. No one can predict the future. It feels right for me [to set a target to win the World Cup] and feels clear."

Tuchel: I will prioritise building a team over individuals

The argument between picking the best available players and the ones who can form the best team is one which has long dogged international managers at Wembley and beyond.

Southgate was often criticised for his loyalty to certain players and defended his selections by saying he was trying to create a solid unit.

Tuchel hinted he may stick to that format, and look to form the best group possible to lead England to the World Cup in 2026.

He said: "The most important thing is to have the right group of players. We will maybe not choose the 26 best individual players, but the best group that supports each other and builds a certain atmosphere and one that can make us overperform because this is what you need to do.

"The most successful teams almost play without ego, they play as teams and this will always be the core of football. It will also be the core in our new nomination process."

What do I like about English football? The humour…

Tuchel is already won over by English football after his stint at Chelsea, which included arguably his greatest achievement when he won the 2021 Champions League title.

He will be based in England, with occasional trips home to visit his family in Germany, and is itching to throw himself back into everything his new adopted country has to offer.

"It's the humour, it's the way of life," he said when asked why he liked English football so much.

"It's the attitude from the supporters to the game and what they demand from the players. It shapes the character of the players, how they live their expression, how they approach their training towards a team effort. For me, it was a one-of-a-kind experience. To breathe that again is a big privilege."

Bullingham: 'Bitesize' Tuchel contract can follow Wiegman's lead

FA chief executive Mark Bullingham pointed to the success of another foreign appointment, Sarina Wiegman, as to why they had chosen "proven winner" Tuchel to replace Southgate.

Wiegman became the Lionesses' first overseas manager in 2021 and led the country to its only major silverware barely a year later, when they lifted the Euro 2022 trophy at Wembley.

"It's an absolutely critical factor to get a proven winner," Bullingham said.

"We saw the impact Sarina had when she came and joined the Lionesses, and the confidence that gave them to have a proven winner with them.

"We feel that Thomas can do the same with our men's team."

Bullingham was pushed about the length of Tuchel's contract, which gives no guarantee he will still be in charge when the home nations combine to host Euro 2028 - with the final potentially at Wembley - in four years' time.

The CEO defended the move, saying: "The best way to think of it is bitesize chunks. Thomas was really clear at the beginning he was signing up for 18 months with the sole goal of doing as well as possible in the men's World Cup.

"He wanted all of his focus on that World Cup. If you sign up for longer, people start drifting their focus.

"One of the lines he said to us at the beginning was that he's signed for 18 months but I might be with you for 10 years. Let's take it in chunks.

"That allows the absolute focus to be on winning in the USA."

Tuchel defends decision to wait until January

The FA have defended Tuchel's January start date. The new England manager will also not attend the World Cup qualifying draw, which is set to take place on December 13 but has not been officially confirmed yet by FIFA.

Bullingham said a desire to concentrate solely on the 2026 finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico was a key factor in Tuchel not getting started until January.

"When we first spoke to him, we had our timescale, Thomas had his timescale and it just fitted really well," Bullingham said.

"What was so impressive was his singular focus on us and the World Cup and that project. It made sense for it to start on January 1 and made sense for Lee to finish the campaign in the Nations League. So we're very comfortable where we are and that's what we'll be doing."

For now at least, Tuchel's reign is set to last for just one tournament, with his 18-month contract ending after the 2026 finals.

Tuchel added: "It was important for me to narrow it down into a project and not lose the focus, to start in another competition, the Nations League, then go into qualification and the tournament.

"I wanted to have a clean start and a bit of time to recharge fully and start in January and start the first camp in March."

Bullingham defends English coaching system

Bullingham also insisted the English coaching system is a success, but accepted the country is "not in that place" to have a handful of homegrown contenders for the national team job.

FA boss Bullingham said there were English candidates among the "approximately 10" people interviewed for the job, but former England defender Gary Neville claimed the decision to go for a foreign coach was a "big blow" to domestic managers.

The job profile published by the FA on July 19 - three days after Gareth Southgate's exit - said the governing body was looking for someone with "a strong track record delivering results in the Premier League and/or leading international competitions". No English boss has won the Premier League, and the last Englishman to win the European Cup was Joe Fagan back in 1984.

Bullingham sought to give his backing to the work being done to develop homegrown talent at the national football centre at St George's Park, which he said had been "a really good success".

"Our pathway is really strong, both from a coaches and players' point of view," Bullingham said. "There are a lot of fantastic young coaches around and obviously (Tuchel's assistant) Anthony (Barry) is one of those.

"I think any federation in the world that is looking to hire a senior manager, clearly you would love to have five to 10 domestic candidates who are coaching clubs in your domestic league, challenging and winning honours in your domestic league and European football. We are not quite in that place at the moment.

"In the background, we have got to keep helping our young coaches to get the best opportunities they can and to get them good opportunities at clubs. We would love to have more English coaches managing in the Premier League, for example. I think there is a balance there."

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