Thomas Tuchel the next England manager: How the Three Lions could line up and winners & losers | OneFootball

Thomas Tuchel has been officially appointed as the England manager.

Given his German background and the fact he’s been sacked by Borussia Dortmund, PSG and Bayern Munich — and departed Chelsea in unfavourable circumstances — Tuchel might well prove to be a divisive appointment.

That said, you must also remember this is a manager with a Champions League medal under his belt, as well as league and cup titles in Germany and France.

“I am very proud to have been given the honour of leading the England team,” Tuchel said in a statement. “I have long felt a personal connection to the game in this country, and it has given me some incredible moments already. To have the chance to represent England is a huge privilege, and the opportunity to work with this special and talented group of players is very exciting.

“Working closely with Anthony as my assistant coach, we will do everything we can to make England successful and the supporters proud. I want to thank the FA, in particular Mark and John, for their trust and I am looking forward to starting our journey together.”

Tuchel will have a tough act to follow when he takes over in 2025 after Gareth Southgate lifted the Three Lions from the floor in 2016, going on to lead them to a World Cup semi-final and quarter-final, two European Championship finals and a bronze medal at the 2018/19 Uefa Nations League.

The remit, however, is clear for Tuchel: win the 2026 World Cup.

So, who are the winners and losers of his appointment and how could England line up under his leadership?

How could England line up under Thomas Tuchel?

Thomas Tuchel has mostly favoured a 4-2-3-1 formation during his time at club management, while ball-playing centre-backs, inverted full-backs and an interchangeable forward line are hallmarks of his line-ups.

Jordan Pickford was dropped for England’s recent win over Finland following a poor showing against Greece, but he remains England’s best when it comes to distribution and shot-stopping. That alongside his immense experience for the national team makes it hard to imagine Tuchel favouring someone else, although the likes of Dean Henderson, Aaron Ramsdale and Nick Pope will be in the German’s ear.

Trent Alexander-Arnold will be the perfect replacement for what Tuchel had in Joshua Kimmich at Bayern, delivering deadly crosses from wide areas, but excelling when moving centrally to act as an extra midfield distributer. Alexander-Arnold started both games for England in the October international break playing this role and looked stunning with the ball at his feet.

It would be tempting to put Eric Dier as the starting centre-back given how much Tuchel likes him, but the former Spurs man has barely played for Bayern this season and is going to need a serious turnaround if he’s to ever return to the international scene. John Stones remains an unquestioned starter and next to him, Tuchel’s arrival may open a door for Levi Colwill, who is naturally left-footed. Colwill was out on loan when Tuchel was Chelsea manager, but the two will be familiar with each other, and he’s started all seven of the Blues’ Premier League games so far this season.

On the left, Luke Shaw remains England’s best natural option, although Ben Chilwell may be extra motivated to either win his place back at Chelsea or leave the club to impress his former boss and earn a recall. Both are injury-prone, however, so keep an eye on Lewis Hall, who has shown plenty of promise for Newcastle this season and knows Tuchel after coming through the Chelsea system. In fact, it was Tuchel who gave Hall his Chelsea debut in an FA Cup match against Chesterfield.

Like Colwill, Conor Gallagher was out on loan when Tuchel was at Chelsea, but they’ll know all about each other. The 24-year-old has proven a hit at Atletico Madrid and has the work ethic and skullduggery Tuchel likes from at least one of his central midfielders. Gallagher taking up a destructive role should also finally free up Declan Rice to play a similar box-to-box role for England as he does for Arsenal.

Jude Bellingham is an unquestioned starter regardless of the manager and should continue to thrive behind Harry Kane — who Tuchel knows only too well from last season — as the central striker.

On the flanks, Tuchel often played a winger on his strong side at Bayern Munich, so Bukayo Saka could be his Leroy Sane. Cole Palmer is making himself undroppable, perhaps at the expense of Phil Foden right now, and would cause havoc cutting inside on the other flank, playing a role similar to Jamal Musiala at Bayern with the licence to drift centrally.

Throughout his club management career, Tuchel has also regularly used a back three and 4-4-2 formations. England have also used both in the recent past — although the latter was a disaster against Greece — and their players will have a level of familiarity with his demands in those set-ups.

Tuchel has also become something of a pragmatist in recent years and down the years, that has often been a route to success at international tournaments.

Thomas Tuchel England manager: Winners and losers

Winner: Harry Kane

England’s captain, record goalscorer and two-time major tournament Golden Boot winner. And yet, there are those still calling for Harry Kane to be dropped. It feels like insanity and Tuchel will likely see it as just that, especially given Kane dropped a whopping 44 goals and 12 assists in 45 appearances under his management last season.

There’s another World Cup in Kane yet.

Loser: English coaching pathway

Eddie Howe was apparently a frontrunner for this job, while Graham Potter is another big English name that is currently without a job. Despite his Republic of Ireland routes, Lee Carsley has enjoyed great success at youth levels with the Three Lions and there was a point about a month ago where some were imagining him making some sort of Luis de la Fuente-esque rise through the ranks.

Instead of all that, the FA has decided to parachute a big-name foreign manager into the job, from Germany no less.

That’s not to say this sort of approach cannot yield success and everyone will be hoping Tuchel delivers a World Cup title in two years. But what of the pathways and opportunities either for English managers or those currently working their way up through the national team system?

Winner: Conor Gallagher & Levi Colwill

As mentioned, Gallagher and Colwill were both out on loan when Tuchel was at Chelsea, but he will still be very familiar with their potential. What’s more, both fill key roles that England need to sort out ahead of the 2026 World Cup, with Gallagher potentially able to free up Declan Rice to be a dynamic box-to-box player and Colwill a naturally left-footed centre-back.

Both are playing regularly at top clubs now, which can only help their cause.

And as also mentioned earlier, keep Lewis Hall in mind for that left-back spot, which is shockingly weak given the talent England have elsewhere.

Loser: Carsley’s U21 stars

One of the hallmarks of the short Carsley era for England was the number of players to star for the U21s getting opportunities at senior level. Among them were Angel Gomes, Rico Lewis and Noni Madueke, who were by no means in the picture prior to Carsley taking to the dugout — perhaps with the exception of Lewis.

Looking back to when Tuchel took over at Chelsea, he gave a grand total of zero minutes to teenagers in his first half-season in the Premier League, while at Bayern, the average age of his Bundesliga team last season was 27.4. One match against Eintracht Frankfurt saw him field a side with an average age of 30.5; the second-highest in club history.

That’s not to say Tuchel won’t give youngsters chances. As we said, it was the German who gave Hall his debut at Chelsea, for example. But a new manager often favours safety, especially with the pressures that come with being England manager.