There was much focus on Thomas Tuchel at the World Cup qualifying draw
Tuchel is relishing the challenge as he attempts to guide England to glory
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By JEORGE BIRD
Published: 17:30 EST, 13 December 2024 | Updated: 17:30 EST, 13 December 2024
A couple of hours after the conclusion of a pretty unexciting World Cup qualifying draw on a cold Zurich afternoon, Didier Deschamps stood outside near a plastic football pitch and spoke on the telephone.
Deschamps, coach of France, is the most decorated figurehead in the world game and yet here at FIFA HQ absolutely nobody bothered him.
It was not quite the same for Thomas Tuchel. He may not start work as head coach of England until January 1 but this was his first official engagement. Suffice to say he now knows exactly what it means to carry that title.
Tuchel was hardly given a moment’s peace here. At one stage, as he made the short walk from one nondescript building to another, the 51-year-old German was surrounded by the kind of moving TV and radio scrum you normally only find outside a court building during a big trial. And he hasn’t even done that much wrong. Not yet, anyway.
Once inside and stationed in front of an English press corps that will follow his every move on a journey we all hope will take us to the 2026 World Cup finals in America, Tuchel declared himself ready and that was reassuring.
‘Yes I feel good,’ said the former Chelsea manager. ‘I feel full of energy and I can’t wait to be back on the pitch and be close to players and feel them and feel the dressing room. It’s the best place you can be.’
Thomas Tuchel was the centre of attention at the World Cup qualifying draw in Zurich
Tuchel is looking forward to the task ahead as he attempts to guide England to glory
In terms of the draw itself. Tuchel declared a group containing Serbia, Albania, Latvia and Andorra as ‘difficult’. But that was diplomacy at work.
The truth is he and the FA will be deeply satisfied. No onerous travel. No matches against other home nations. This was a draw that ticked many favourable boxes for a nation that will once again hope to travel to a big tournament as one of the favourites.
More broadly, this was a fascinating opportunity to see Tuchel at work for the first time on such a stage. Having driven from his home in Munich to attend the draw, he now has less than three weeks before he starts the 18-month contract that ends after the next World Cup.
He brushed off the delicate issue of nationality and indeed the way his appointment has been received in some quarters. ‘No hard feelings,’ he smiled.
But then it was to the rather more nuanced matter of where he has been since he was unveiled at Wembley in mid-October.
Tuchel didn’t attend either of England’s Nations League matches as interim manager Lee Carsley finished off his spell with wins in Greece and at Wembley over the Republic of Ireland. Nor has he been seen at any Premier League games, which has raised some eyebrows given his first game — quite possibly a World Cup qualifier — will roll around in March.
‘Why would I sit in the stands?’ he asked. ‘If we had made the decision that I’m in charge then I would be at the sideline. But we didn’t. So in the moment, it was my wish to let Lee finish this campaign, because the FA had the agreement with Lee, more or less, to go through this Nations League campaign. Why have the cameras on me? Why have the focus on me? What about Lee and his team and his nomination?
‘It’s for me, a way to show my respect and to show my trust, to not be there and sit on the tribune and have all the media attention. So that was very clear. But like I said, we watched a lot of matches lately, of course.
Tuchel stated that he didn't want to take the spotlight away from interim boss Lee Carsley
There is an immediacy and urgency to Tuchel's job which feels a little unusual
‘We are already in deep planning of how to do and how to build a group, and how to influence this group.’
Tuchel will sit with Carsley at St George’s Park next month and one hopes it is a conversation of detail. Much seems to have changed already since Gareth Southgate’s tenure ended in defeat by Spain in Berlin in the final of Euro 2024 in July. Carsley blooded new players and, on occasion, a new attitude.
‘I was in an amazing position before Lee won the matches and I am still in an amazing position because I am privileged to do this job,‘ explained Tuchel. ‘I am very proud and excited to get to the start. I am happy the team delivered, Lee delivered, so it was the right choice to let him finish the job.
‘It was difficult because they had to produce a result against Greece with a lot of absentees and they did, so well done and full credit to them.
‘The famous handover is not done yet. We will do this naturally when I am at St George’s in January. From there on, we will have very close communication, hopefully, and open doors because he is the Under 21 coach and I am responsible for the first team.
‘This is normally how I work and how I also expect Lee to be close to me, so of course I am interested in his point of view on the group, the team.’
With Tuchel working to an unusually short contract, there is an immediacy and urgency to this posting that feels a little peculiar. This is not about long-term planning and building. It is about winning. Tuchel declared himself happy with that here and suggested it will help bring energy to his work. This is his first international role and it will be fundamentally different to how his work at Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain has previously felt.
It looks as though he will enjoy the attention the job brings, though, and it is to be hoped that is the case because there will be plenty. The interest from his adopted country will be suffocating and there will also be plenty from Germany.
Tuchel has some tough choices to make - including deciding Kyle Walker's international future
Although he described England's draw as 'difficult', Tuchel will be confident of progress
At least on this occasion, he was not asked whether he will be singing the national anthem before his first game at the start of spring. That one can wait.
Already there are problems to solve and issues to address. Kyle Walker. Phil Foden. Harry Kane. Jack Grealish. Ben White. Marcus Rashford. Mason Greenwood. Who starts at left back? And so on and on it goes.
The last time England lost a World Cup qualifier was in Ukraine in 2009 — a dead rubber — and this group of matches should not greatly inconvenience Tuchel’s England. That is not arrogance, more a reflection of the depth and quality of the players available. There will always be a fuss around the national team, however, and there will always be a fuss around the manager.
Tuchel experienced a bit of that here. At least he’s started now. At least he’s here.