Kyle Walker names Thomas Tuchel memory that ‘sticks firmly in my mind’ after England appointment
Walker was on the losing side when Tuchel led Chelsea to the Champions League in 2021
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England defender Kyle Walker understands the clamour for an English manager but says Thomas Tuchel will be a “great appointment”.
The German has been named as Gareth Southgate’s successor, becoming just the third foreign manager of England following Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.
There has been some criticism aimed at the Football Association for overlooking English candidates.
Walker was on the losing side when Tuchel led Chelsea to the Champions League in 2021 and says it is about results.
“I can understand the English public thinking it should be an English manager taking control of the national team,” he said on the BBC podcast ‘You’ll Never Beat Kyle Walker’.
“But for me it’s about who is going to get the results, he has proven at big clubs that he can manage big players with big characters, the likes of PSG, he went to Chelsea and won the Champions League against Manchester City, that is one that sticks firmly in my mind.
“It is a great appointment and it is an even better appointment if he puts me in the team again. I think it is a great appointment but the proof is in the pudding, we need to do it as a set of players.”
Tuchel, who starts his new job on January 1, has only been given an 18-month contract and is tasked with winning the 2026 World Cup.
Walker, who played in both England’s European Championships final defeats under Southgate, says it would be a “disappointment” if this group of players did not win a trophy.
“It would be disappointing if we don’t see a trophy with the group of players we have got, on paper it is incredible, but nothing is given in football,” he added. “It’s always going to help when people have been there.”
Walker, who is on 91 caps and wants to reach 100, will be 36 when the World Cup comes around and knows his place on the plane is not guaranteed.
“We’ll see,” he said. “That is not me writing myself off but that is me being realistic that your form has to go into it, you can’t just be there because your form has been there in the past. But you need a little bit of experience in the team.”
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