Thomas Tuchel press conference LIVE: New England manager says ‘I’m sorry I have a German passport’

Tuchel says he is ‘very excited and honoured’ to be the new England manager. He says it feels ‘big’ and is a privilege to take on the role which he expects to be different and new from that as a club manager.

FA CEO Mark Bullingham says that Thomas Tuchel has been appointed with the aim of winning the World Cup in 2026.

He says over the course of the summer the FA had outlined the profile of what they want from the England manager and says that Tuchel was an ‘outstanding candidate’.

The new England manager is due to hold his first press conference at Wembley today. That is just about to begin so we’ll find out what he had to say about taking on the role shortly...

Thomas Tuchel has targeted winning the World Cup in 2026 after his appointment as the new England head coach was confirmed.

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.

Thomas Tuchel had many influences and mentors through the fledgling years of his coaching career, most notably Ralf Rangnick and Jurgen Klopp. But perhaps the most intriguing was a German scientist, Professor Wolfgang Schollhorn.

Schollhorn advocated the benefits of ‘differential learning’, in which the student’s environment is constantly disturbed and disrupted, forcing them to come up with new solutions rather than simply repeating the same motions.

“If we want to have extraordinary performance, we need to train extraordinarily!” went Schollhorn’s maxim.

Fabio Capello (2007-2012)

Overall record: Played 42, won 28, drawn eight, lost six, scored 89, conceded 35, win ratio 66.7 percent.

Tournament record: Last 16 at 2010 World Cup, qualified for Euro 2012.

Strengths: Arrived with a stellar CV and coaching record, having won league titles with AC Milan, Real Madrid, Roma and Juventus. Extensive tactical knowhow produced defensively strong, disciplined teams.

Weaknesses: The English language – he once said he needed only 100 words to communicate with the players. However, that did nothing for his relationship with the media. His man-management was also found wanting as Capello also treated the players like schoolchildren, which was a huge change from his predecessor and not one well-received with the squad who described their 2010 World Cup base as a “luxury prison”.

Sven-Goran Eriksson (2001-2006)

Record: Played 67, won 40, drawn 17, lost 10, scored 128, conceded 61, win ratio 59.7 percent

Tournament history: 2002 World Cup quarter-final, Euro 2004 quarter-final, 2006 World Cup quarter-final.

Strengths: Loved by the players, to whom he was incredibly loyal, and that helped foster a great team spirit and character. Calm under pressure, both on the field and off it with the media after a number of stories about his private life.

Weaknesses: His loyalty to chosen players in a settled squad often left him hamstrung or reluctant to bring in wildcard selections. The style of football was not very entertaining and was criticised for not getting more out of England’s ‘golden generation’.

Thomas Tuchel will be the England men’s national team’s 16th different permanent manager and just the third non-Englishman after Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.

According to Opta, Eriksson boasted a 59.7% winning record while Italy’s Capello’s was an impressive 66.7%. Tuchel has a 57.3% win percentage across 578 games as a manager with his best being 74.8% during his time with PSG.

These stats point to something but it’s unclear whether they will transfer to Tuchel actually winning the World Cup with England.

Gary Neville spoke about English coaches struggling to reach the high-end jobs. He told Sky Sports: “What the FA have done doesn’t feel strategic, it seems quite instinctive. Tuchel has been available since the summer, so they didn’t need to appoint an interim manager. It smacks of it being quite a recent decision.

“Let’s be clear, Tuchel is better than any of the other English candidates. But the likes of Graham Potter and Eddie Howe show there were outstanding candidates that could have been appointed and that were English.

“The reputational damage English coaching has taken means we are now in a rut. We are one of the least respected nations when it comes to taking charge of a football team. We don’t have a clear identity and we haven’t got a coach that has built a style that is unique to us. We’ve just copied what others do.

“We need to build an identity and let English coaches flourish. St George’s Park was set up to do that. So I do think the FA have got some difficult questions to answer.”

Rio Ferdinand says the England players are likely to have feelings of “anxiety and apprehension kicking in” knowing that Thomas Tuchel is now the head coach.

“They want to be led to the promised land,” Ferdinand posted on X, formerly Twitter. “I know for a fact that these players will be sat there ringing each other and asking ‘what is he like?’ They will be calling all of their mates that have played under him.

“All of the players will be questioning themselves and asking whether they are what he likes. It will invigorate and galvanize some players but there will be a little of bit of anxiety and apprehension kicking in.”