One year of Thomas Tuchel – Rating the German’s reign of England | OneFootball

On this day one year ago Thomas Tuchel was announced as England manager, but the German would not start work until 1 January of this year.

Since his appointment, Tuchel has given five players their international debuts, aimed digs towards the Three Lions fans for their support of the team, and left out many squad regulars.

After England’s 5-0 win against Latvia confirmed their place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States, the German’s full focus can now go onto next year’s tournament, with the hope of finally ending 60 years of hurt.

Here we look at the highs and lows of Tuchel’s tenure to date:

Unconvincing start

The 52-year-old has won every game apart from a 3-1 defeat to Senegal in Nottingham, which saw the African side secure their first ever win England. After beginning his international managerial career at the turn of the year, progression looked slow to start with, with lacklustre performances against inferior opposition not appeasing the Three Lions supporters.

This almost came to boiling point after loss to the Lions of Teranga, whose squad featured many Premier League players. This followed underwhelming victories against lowly Albania and Andorra. Sub-par performances, but still getting results. That summed up most of Tuchel’s first games in charge, but then came Serbia in Belgrade and, all of a sudden, things were looking a lot rosier.

The turning point

A 5-0 hammering of the Serbs were followed up by comfortable, goal-laden wins over Wales and Latvia, with their dominance in recent matches such that Jordan Pickford has not conceded a goal for his country in nine matches.

This has been down to Tuchel’s team balance, something his predecessors struggled with as they tried to fit in as many superstars as possible. On paper England’s team does not look as strong as their rivals, but through Tuchel’s tactics and a side that compliments each player, then the Three Lions look as dangerous as they ever have before. Having Harry Kane in the goalscoring form of his life also helps, but the England captain has only acted as a catalyst for his teammates to step up a gear.

Damaging comments

But it has not all been plain sailing for Tuchel. His “repulsive” comment towards Jude Bellingham led to him apologising to his star midfielder, whilst his remarks about the support of the fans after the 3-0 win to Wales was said in good faith, but not what the supporters would have wanted to hear.

The quote was: “The stadium was silent. We didn’t get any energy back from the stands. We did everything to win.”

This led to England fans responding the only way they could in Latvia, by chanting “we sing when we want” and “are we loud enough for you?” towards the German, who admitted he probably got what he deserved for his previous comments.

Embedding new talent and sacrificing old faces

Bringing in the likes of Dan Burn, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Elliot Anderson, Trevoh Chalobah and Djed Spence have added much needed depth and competition to the side. Nottingham Forest’s Anderson, in particular, has excelled, getting player of the match awards in his first two international matches and now looking a guaranteed starter in the States.

Despite being ever presents in the previous regime under Gareth Southgate, the likes of Jude Bellingham Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Jack Grealish have yet to gain the trust of Tuchel, and it will be a uphill climb for all three if they are to be on the plane next summer.

So far it is eight matches; seven wins, one defeat, 22 goals scored under the German is a good start to work with, but none of England’s opponents have been a top ten nation, which is where Tuchel’s squad selection and tactics will be judged more severely. But after a rocky start, England look to be a team to fear in 2026.