New England boss Thomas Tuchel apologised for having a German passport but insisted he was ready to prove wrong the critics who are against a foreign coach taking charge.
The 51-year-old, who said he has not yet decided whether he would sing the national anthem, has signed an 18-month contract and stressed his focus was to get over the line in a major tournament after several near-misses under predecessor Gareth Southgate.
Tuchel, who has previously managed Borussia Dortmund, Paris St Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich, is the third non-Englishman to hold the post after Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.
“I’m sorry, I have a German passport,” he told a press conference at Wembley.
📩 (1) new message from Thomas Tuchel. pic.twitter.com/ADTVUHpnRN
— England (@England) October 16, 2024
“Everyone has their opinion and I can understand when someone says ‘I would fancy an English coach for an English team’.
“All of those supporters maybe felt my passion for the English Premier League and the country and how I love to live and work here.
“I think we deserve a fair chance and the credit for having a good record in the country and never being shy of how much we love the country and love working with the players in the Premier League.
“Maybe this counts towards a British edge on my German passport. We will try to convince them with results and the way we play.
“Hopefully I can convince them and prove to them I am proud to be an England manager and do everything to show respect to this role and this country and the target for the next 18 months.”
The subject of the national anthem was raised for the second time in as many months.
Interim boss Lee Carsley, a former Republic of Ireland international with an Irish grandmother, faced similar questions when he stepped up from the under-21s to take charge for the Nations League matches in September and chose not to sing.
“I understand it is a personal decision, there are managers who sing and some who don’t,” said Tuchel.
“I have not made my decision yet. No matter what decision I take I will always show my respect to the country and a very moving anthem.”
Tuchel, who will be assisted by English coach Anthony Barry who he worked with at Chelsea and Bayern, will take up the role on January 1 ahead of the World Cup qualifying campaign.
Looking forward to playing under the boss again! https://t.co/mIQOhWKNMz
— Harry Kane (@HKane) October 16, 2024
Tuchel said he had no issue over the relatively short length of contract.
“It’s 18 months and then we agreed to sit together and see,” he added, before joking: “I have good experience with 18 months personally (the length of his initial contract at Chelsea) – unfortunately. I am working on my long-term game.
“In this particular case it wasn’t important for me to have a timeframe around it as it is a little bit of a step into the unknown for me.
“I am used to working with 60 to 80 people at a training ground on a daily basis. This will be different.
“The timeframe of 18 months demands from myself not to lose the focus for all of us. It will help us to focus on the qualification for the World Cup and the World Cup.
“It will help with the communication process, it is now streamlined and easy to explain, and we are here to work on the best possible outcome for World Cup 2026 and whatever comes, comes.”
Tuchel was asked whether he had spoken to England captain Harry Kane, who he signed for Bayern Munich last season, and whether the striker would continue to wear the armband.
“I did speak to no-one. We kept the process very confidential. I didn’t speak to Harry, I didn’t speak to Gareth (Southgate). I never normally do this to get my own point view,” he said.
“It’s too early to answer these kind of questions (about the captaincy). You know how highly I think of Harry and how much I fought to bring him to Bayern Munich.
“Now it is very important to give the respect to Lee (Carsley) and the pending camp in November.”
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham is adamant they have given England the best chance of success at the World Cup.
“We have appointed one of the very best coaches in the world and one of the very best English coaches is his number two,” he said.
“Our aim is always to win a major tournament and we believe Thomas gives us the best possible chance to do that at the next men’s World Cup.”
