Under the lights of Wembley, a new era will start for England tonight. Excluding Lee Carsley’s interim stint at the end of last year, a foreign manager will take to the Three Lions’ dugout at Wembley for the first time since Fabio Capello more than a decade ago.
It feels like an impossible job. Southgate, since coming in after that horrific Euro 2016 campaign, brought about stability; England began to progress to the latter stages of tournaments once more, only to suffer heartbreak at Wembley and the Olympiastadion in each of the last two European Championships.
Yet still, by the end of his tenure, fans had turned against him. The football had turned stale, and supporters felt that the squad had turned stagnant and was riddled by ‘has-beens’ and players past their prime.
Lee Carsley, during his short stint as interim boss, suffered similar criticism. A manager with a serious reputation found his squad decisions mocked by armchair fans, despite calling up players he knew he could rely on from his U21 days and giving them the opportunity to flourish on the senior stage in what was, for all intents and purposes, a completely irrelevant run of games in the UEFA Nations League.
But unlike Southgate, criticism of Carsley – as an Irishman – was undoubtedly fuelled by his stance on singing the national anthem. It is simply pathetic that rather than judging the England manager by his on-pitch performances, tens of thousands of fans have already cast judgement before a ball has been kicked – and yet Tuchel has already suffered the same treatment.
The German feels he must “earn the right” to belt out God Save The King; that is, unfortunately for the ex-Chelsea boss, a trap. You see, Tuchel’s contract ends in 18 months and there’s every chance that it’ll only be extended if England win the FIFA World Cup in 2026.
Whether that’s a feasible task or not is a question for another day, but there is no other opportunity prior to that for Tuchel to “earn the right” to sing the anthem. If he starts to belt it out in six months’ time, fans will slam him for getting ahead of himself – how dare he liken wins over Albania and Andorra to World Cup triumphs against the likes of Brazil and Argentina? And if he doesn’t sing it, he’ll be labelled half-hearted; “it’s like he never wanted to be here anyways,” they’ll cry from the stands.
It’s hard not to feel for Tuchel. It feels as though his past – yes, the same past that actually got him this job – has been forgotten about already. Fans have forgotten the amicable manager that guided Chelsea to UEFA Champions League success, seeing off the likes of Dortmund, Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid and Manchester City along the way. Supporters have already started to overlook the connections he has with members of this squad, and the relationships that turn him from ‘just a manager’ into a manager you’d be willing to put your body on the line for.
And that’s the beauty of a short-term contract. Tuchel can call upon the expertise of players he knows well, and he can make use of players with whom he has a great relationship – because his only goal is World Cup success. There’s no need to plan for the future just yet. There’s no need to build a side that’s capable of winning Euro 2028.
Admittedly, with the exception of a five-year spell at Mainz in the German Bundesliga, the majority of Tuchel’s managerial stints have been short and sweet. Trophies come, fallouts with the owners follow shortly after, and then the German finds himself trundling back to the Job Centre to rinse and repeat.
But the former Bayern boss has only been handed an 18-month contract, and if he can end the Three Lions’ six-decade wait for a major trophy in the Americas in 2026, will fans actually care if he gets sacked a few months later?