Thomas Tuchel breaks silence after being confirmed as new England manager

Thomas Tuchel is brimming with pride following his confirmation as England's new manager , taking over from Gareth Southgate. On Wednesday morning, The FA announced the appointment with Tuchel agreeing to an 18-month deal, starting on 1 January of the next year.

Reflecting on his appointment, the former Bayern Munich and Chelsea gaffer commented: "I am very proud to have been given the honor of leading the England team. 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."

Tuchel further expressed his enthusiasm for working alongside his right-hand man Anthony Barry, with plans to leave their mark on English football.

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"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."

Barry himself couldn't hide his excitement about joining forces with Tuchel, declaring the national duty as the ultimate achievement in football. He said: "For any Englishman in football, working with the national team is the pinnacle and I didn't hesitate when Thomas asked me to come and join him again. I know what a great place St. George's Park is and how much of an advantage it gives our England teams, and the support it gives to coaches.

"This squad is very talented and have done so much to bring the country together, I look forward to meeting and working with them on this exciting project."

FA CEO Mark Bullingham has also shed light on why they opted for Tuchel. He stated: "We are thrilled to have hired Thomas Tuchel, one of the best coaches in the world and Anthony Barry who is one of the best English coaches to support him. Our recruitment process has been very thorough.

"Before the EUROs we had a contingency plan and outlined exactly the qualities we would be looking for in a coach. Since Gareth resigned, we have worked through the candidate pool, meeting a number of coaches and evaluating them against that criteria. Thomas was very impressive and stood out with his vast expertise and his drive. Anthony is a top English talent and also has international experience with Republic of Ireland, Belgium and Portugal.

"Fundamentally we wanted to hire a coaching team to give us the best possible chance of winning a major tournament, and we believe they will do just that. Thomas and the team have a single-minded focus on giving us the best possible chance to win the World Cup in 2026."