While England fight for promotion to the top division of the Nations League this week, the man named as the country’s new manager will not be overseeing matters on the pitch.
Despite signing his contract on October 8, Thomas Tuchel will take up managerial duties on January 1, 2025.
Interim boss Lee Carsley will be the man to piece together an injury-riddled England squad for Thursday’s game against unbeaten Group B2 leaders Greece and the final group game against the Republic of Ireland at Wembley on Sunday.
Why the wait?
Tuchel isn’t expected to be in Athens nor at Wembley this week and will not be taking on any England managerial duties, such as attending Premier League matches, until he officially starts in January.
The English Football Association (FA) planned for interim manager Carsley to oversee England’s Nations League campaign so that Tuchel, who has signed an 18-month deal, can have a “clean start” and fully focus on the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, which could begin in March.
Thomas Tuchel during his unveiling as England manager at Wembley Stadium on October 16, 2024. (Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)
CEO Mark Bullingham said during Tuchel’s unveiling that the FA were “very clear” that Carsley would manage the two remaining group games.
“When we first spoke to Thomas he wanted to have a singular focus on the World Cup. So it made sense on both sides for him to start on January 1,” said Bullingham. “When we first spoke to him, we had our timescale, Thomas had his timescale and it just fitted really well.”
For Tuchel, he didn’t want to start his reign as one campaign was about to conclude. England have two Nations League group games remaining and two victories may secure automatic return to League A, the top tier of the competition.
“It was important to narrow it down into a project and not lose the focus, to start in another competition, the Nations League, then go into (World Cup) qualification and the tournament,” Tuchel said. “I wanted to have a clean start and a bit of time to recharge fully, start in January, and start the first camp in March. We will have not a lot of time.”
Does this decision make sense?
Tuchel’s assistant, Anthony Barry, will be working with Portugal this month as Roberto Martinez’s No 2, so wouldn’t be free to join the new England manager in the dugout, possibly another contributory factor to Tuchel’s delayed start.
But plenty have argued that Tuchel is wasting precious time. The gap between signing the contract and officially starting his job is almost three months. He will have missed two international windows and four games since putting pen to paper.
“It would not have had the high-stakes buzz of the World Cup qualification campaign that should start in March 2025,” wrote The Athletic’s Jack Pitt-Brooke this month of these two forthcoming fixtures, “but it would have been a start nonetheless. A chance to plant those first seeds in the minds of his players about what he expects from them, to prepare them for the challenges of 2025. Even one intense week of contact time with the squad would have had its uses.”
When will his first game be?
Tuchel starts his job on January 1, 2025, and yet could find himself overseeing Nations League matches if England fail to secure automatic qualification over the next few days.
If England, currently second in League B Group 2, fail to finish top of the group they will have to go through a Nations League playoff at the end of March (for promotion to League A if they finish second in the group or to avoid relegation to League C if they finish third, which is highly unlikely).
Should England finish top of their group — they are three points adrift of group leaders Greece with an inferior goal difference, but will go level on points with Ivan Jovanovic’s side with victory in Athens — Tuchel’s first match will be a World Cup qualifying match.
The start date of that qualifying campaign depends on what group England are drawn into in Zurich on December 13. With 16 European places up for grabs in the first 48-team World Cup, countries drawn into the five-team groups will begin games in March, while those in the groups comprising of four teams start will start on the road to North America in September. Qualifying will conclude in March 2026 with the World Cup starting in June.
(Top picture: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
