Former Arsenal head coach Arsene Wenger admits that he is surprised England have appointed Thomas Tuchel as their new boss.
Former Arsenal head coach Arsene Wenger has admitted that he is surprised England have appointed Thomas Tuchel as their new boss.
Tuchel will become just England’s third foreign head coach after Sven Goran-Eriksson and Fabio Capello when he officially takes charge of the Three Lions at the start of 2025.
The 51-year-old, who will be the permanent replacement for Gareth Southgate, is one of the most respected managers in the game, winning trophies with Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich, but his England appointment has been criticised.
Ex-England defenders Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher are among those to have expressed concern that the next Three Lions manager will not be English, and Wenger has now had his say on the situation.
“I just feel – to make it as simple as possible – If I’m the manager of England and I play against France I cannot sing the national anthem of France,” Wenger told BeIN Sports.
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Wenger questions England’s decision to appoint Tuchel as manager
“To me on that front, I prefer that the manager is from the country. Why should the player have to be from a country and not the manager? There is a big inference.
“I think he is a perfect coach and a perfect candidate, but he’s not English. But it’s allowed so there is nothing wrong with that.”
Tuchel is not taking charge of England immediately, with Lee Carsley remaining at the helm on an interim basis for the fixtures against Greece and Republic of Ireland on November 14 and November 17 respectively.
The Three Lions have won three of their four matches since Euro 2024, beating Republic of Ireland and Finland (twice), but they did suffer a 2-1 home defeat to Greece earlier this month.
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Neville called Tuchel appointment “damaging” for English football
“I do think we are damaging ourselves accepting Thomas Tuchel is better, he is better than any of the other English coaches. But with the English coaches that have managed in the upper echelons of the league with Eddie Howe at Newcastle and Graham Potter. I do think there are outstanding coaches that could have been appointed that were English,” Neville told Sky Sports News.
Howe had been viewed as another leading contender, but the 46-year-old revealed after the Tuchel appointment that he had not been contacted by the Football Association.
When asked at a Newcastle United press conference if he was interviewed for the job, Howe said: “No, I wasn’t.”
“I think England have to do what is right for them and only they will know the processes they have gone through and the decisions they have made, and I’m certainly not the type of person that is going to analyse that.
“For me, it’s about Newcastle, it’s about trying to win games and it’s hard enough trying to do that if you’re 100% focussed. I will always remain that way to my work. If you drop your levels of focus, the job becomes impossible. At no stage have I allowed myself to do that.”
England are among the favourites for the 2026 World Cup, while France, Brazil, Spain, Germany and Argentina are also expected to be serious challengers for the trophy.
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