England manager Thomas Tuchel has said he needs to “prove himself” after the mixed reaction to his appointment.
Tuchel, 51, does not officially start his role in charge of the men’s England team until January 1 but was in Zurich, Switzerland, on Friday for the European qualifying draw ahead of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
England were drawn into Group K, where they will play against Serbia, Andorra, Latvia and Albania.
Responding to a question about what he thought of the reaction following his appointment to replace Gareth Southgate, which split opinion in UK media due to the fact he is German and not English, Tuchel shrugged off any concerns.
“No, no hard feelings for that,” Tuchel told a group of journalists, including The Athletic, after the draw. “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.”
Tuchel also revealed that he will open the door for Ben White to make a return to the England fold, with the Arsenal right-back not featuring for the Three Lions since he flew home early from the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
“Yes,” Tuchel said, when asked if White will be given a clean slate. “I will reach out to him.”
Tuchel, however, said he has not picked up the phone to any England players — including current captain Harry Kane — and won’t do so until next month.
“It should be clean and a clean start and a clear narrative,” he added. “It starts from January. I will be in the stadiums from January.
“I will also not distract the players and they should just know, ‘OK, the boss is there from January’. Then I will of course try to speak to them, but also be respectful to the schedule that they have, because schedule is busy in January, especially in the Premier League.”
The England manager, who accepted the job in October, also explained why he chose to stay away from the national team’s games against Greece and the Republic of Ireland in November.
“If we make a decision that I’m in charge, then I would be at the sideline,” Tuchel added. “So in the moment, it was my wish to let Lee (Carsley) finish this 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.
“But like I said, we watched a lot of matches lately, we are already in deep planning of how to do and how to build a group, and how to influence this group.”
(Fabrice Coffrini / AFP via Getty Images)
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