Thomas Tuchel says he is ready to prove the doubters wrong after England were handed a relatively straight forward route to the finals of the 2026 World Cup.
New England boss Tuchel was at FIFA headquarters to see his adopted country drawn with Serbia, Albania, Latvia and Andorra in Group K of European World Cup qualifying.
Speaking afterwards, the 51-year-old German said he was aware that reaction to his appointment as Gareth Southgate’s successor had been mixed but vowed to show that he is the right man for the job when he officially starts work on January 1.
‘I read much less than you would expect,’ Tuchel said.
‘Maybe you can tell me how it was received. But no hard feelings for that. Of course, it will always be mixed.
‘So now I have to prove myself. And to the people who are maybe a bit concerned – to prove to them how much it means to me and that it’s a dream job for me that I will give my everything, and I’m the man for the job.’
Thomas Tuchel says he is ready to prove the doubters wrong as England discovered their World Cup qualifying opponents
New England boss Tuchel was at FIFA headquarters to see his adopted country drawn with Serbia, Albania, Latvia and Andorra in Group K
England have been handed a relatively straightforward route to the 2026 World Cup finals
Tuchel will start his England tenure with at least one qualifying game in March after the 2022 quarter-finalists were drawn in to a five-team group. The exact schedule has not been decided on yet.
Serbia are the highest ranked of England’s opponents at number 32 on the FIFA list. England have only played them once, winning 1-0 through a Jude Bellingham goal in the opening game of last summer’s Euros.
That apart England will not have reason to particularly fear Albania – who they have beaten four times from four games – or Latvia – who they have never played – and Andorra, against whom they have accumulated a 26-0 aggregate score over six matches.
‘The mindset is, in general, that I want to adapt to everything that is coming, not complain or look for excuses and not expect or wish for something, ‘ said Tuchel, the former Chelsea manager.
‘It is what it is, I am happy. The most important thing is we focus fully on the qualification and we take it seriously and give it our respect and prove a point that we want to go to the USA.’
Tuchel has not yet met with Lee Carsley, who took charge of the England team for six Nations League games in the autumn. He plans to do that at St George’s Park in Germany.
He has promised to start with a clean slate, though, and that will include a phone call to Arsenal defender Ben White, who has not played for England since leaving the Qatar World Cup early in the winter of 2022. ‘Yes I will reach out to him,’ said Tuchel.
‘It should be a clean start and a clear narrative. It starts from January. I will be in the stadiums from January. I will also not distract the players and they should just know: “Okay, the boss is there from January”.
Tuchel will start his England tenure with at least one qualifying game in March
‘Then I will of course try to speak to them, but also be respectful to the schedule that they have, because the schedule is busy in January, especially in the Premier League.’
Tuchel managed England captain Harry Kane at his last club post at Bayern Munich last season. Asked if Kane would continue as skipper, he said: ‘At the moment there is no need to think about the change.
‘I’m in charge from January. Harry was also always a top captain for England. So why do you even think about it at the moment? You cross the river when you’re at the river.
‘First come January, then we will be in touch with everyone and get the feeling for St George’s and also for the players. And until March, there’s still a lot of football to be played and then we will try to find the best group for the games that await.’
