THOMAS Tuchel will begin his England duties three weeks early - after receiving the green light to attend the 2026 World Cup draw.
German Three Lions chief Tuchel had not been expected to take up any England role until the start of his 18 month contract on January 1.
Thomas Tuchel is set to pick up his Three Lions duties three weeks early
Thomas Tuchel is set to pick up his Three Lions duties three weeks early
The former Chelsea manager will represent England at the World Cup qualifying draw on December 13
The former Chelsea manager will represent England at the World Cup qualifying draw on December 13
It was suspected that there may have been issues with his contract position following his summer departure from Bayern Munich.
But Tuchel will now headline the FA delegation when Wembley chiefs travel to Zurich on December 13 for the start of the European road to the World Cup to be held in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
Tuchel’s participation in the post-draw interview round will represent his first formal involvement in the national team - while he may also discover the opponents for his debut match.
England are one of the 12 top seeds in the draw to help decide the 16 European places at the tournament, a place due to their position in the Fifa world rankings.
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Six of the groups will contain four teams with the other six made up of five sides.
However, with four of the smaller groups set aside for the winners of the Nations League A quarter-finals - being played in March - England have a 75 per cent chance of being in one of the five-team groups.
Those groups are scheduled to see matches played in March and June, whereas the four-team sections will be entirely compressed into the autumn breaks in September, October and November.
Fifa will announce the fixtures schedule soon after the draw and it could mean Tuchel’s first match in charge is the opening World Cup qualifier.
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The former PSG boss had previously been blocked from attending the draw after being appointed in his new job two months ago.
That could be against second seeds Wales, with Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland all possible pot three opponents.
Watch Thomas Tuchel's awkward reaction when asked why he chose England over Man Utd
The 12 group winners will gain automatic qualification, with the runners up joined by four teams from the Nations League to play off the for the remaining places.
As a top ranking side, England have been drawn in Pot 1 with Nations League quarter-finalists Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal and Euro winners Spain.
What are the World Cup European Qualifying pots?
Pot 1
Spain
Germany
Portugal
France
Italy
Netherlands
Denmark
Croatia
England
Belgium
Switzerland
Austria
Pot 2
Ukraine
Sweden
Turkey
Wales
Hungary
Serbia
Poland
Greece
Romania
Slovakia
Czech Republic
Norway
Pot 3
Scotland
Slovenia
Republic of Ireland
Albania
North Macedonia
Georgia
Finland
Iceland
Northern Ireland
Montenegro
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Israel
Pot 4
Bulgaria
Luxembourg
Kosovo
Belarus
Armenia
Kazakhstan
Azerbaijan
Estonia
Cyprus
Faroe Islands
Latvia
Lithuania
Pot 5
Moldova
Malta
Andorra
Gibraltar
Liechtenstein
San Marino