Thomas Tuchel has signed a new deal to stay as the England head coach until 2028.
The German is understood to be excited by the prospect of leading England beyond this summer’s World Cup and towards the opportunity of a “home” European Championship in 2028.
The new deal means the 52-year-old remains in charge until the end of that tournament, which will be hosted by England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, with the semi-finals and final at Wembley Stadium.
Tuchel’s initial contract, which he signed in October 2024 before taking charge in January 2025, was due to expire after the World Cup in North America, and uncertainty over his future would have risked causing instability and doubt in the players’ minds.
Tuchel’s new deal is understood to be on similar terms to the previous one. His backroom staff — Anthony Barry, Henrique Hilário, Nico Mayer and James Melbourne — have also signed new deals until 2028.
Mark Bullingham, the FA’s chief executive, revealed that there were “performance conditions” in Tuchel’s contract but declined to say if there was a break clause if England have a disastrous World Cup.
Tuchel said that Euro 2028 would be “a very special tournament”
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“We’ve appointed him with a view to him being our coach for 2028,” Bullingham said at the Uefa Congress in Brussels. “Every single person has performance conditions in their contract; you wouldn’t expect me to go into those. I’ve got them as well. But we’re really clear that we want him coaching us in 2028.”
Bullingham added that it was “not realistic” for the FA to wait until after this summer’s tournament to address Tuchel’s future.
“We felt like we had a world-class coach doing a really good job for us and we wanted him to carry on,” he said. “We felt like he was really enjoying the job, the players were responding really well to him.
“We obviously had a good qualification campaign and we were looking ahead to 2028. Whenever we’ve got any tournament, we want to know where we are a few months ahead to remove that uncertainty.”
Tuchel said: “I am very happy and proud to extend my time with England. It is no secret to anyone that I have loved every minute so far of working with my players and coaches, and I cannot wait to lead them to the World Cup.
“I have had so much support from Mark, all my colleagues at the FA and from fans wherever I go that I did not hesitate when asked to continue in this dream job. Euro 2028 will be a very special tournament and as a coach there is nothing more you want than to compete with the very best on the biggest possible stage.”
Tuchel, centre, with his backroom staff — from left, goalkeeping coach Hilario, performance coach Mayer, assistant coach Barry and lead analyst Melbourne — who have also signed new deals until 2028
EDDIE KEOGH/FA/GETTY IMAGES
The FA will surely consider retaining one of the world’s elite coaches as a coup when major posts in the club game are open or poised to become so.
Tuchel was expected to be among Manchester United’s main targets in their search for a head coach. With Michael Carrick only in charge until the end of the season, United are looking to make a long-term appointment and they are big admirers of Tuchel.
They approached him to succeed Erik ten Hag, and in the summer of 2024 Tuchel had several meetings with the United hierarchy, including one with their co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, before ruling himself out of consideration.
Other big club jobs, like the one at Tottenham Hotspur, are up for grabs and Tuchel had been one of the favourites to be the next head coach of Real Madrid, after an unconvincing start by Álvaro Arbeloa, who replaced Xabi Alonso in January.
Arbeloa’s poor start means that Real are likely to be looking for a new head coach in the summer
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With uncertainty also surrounding the futures of Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain) and pressure on Arne Slot (Liverpool) and Eddie Howe (Newcastle United), it is a febrile time in the coaching market.
Under Tuchel, England set records en route to the World Cup by becoming the first European nation to take maximum points from an eight-game qualifying campaign without conceding a goal.
Leading players such as Harry Kane and Declan Rice have spoken glowingly about Tuchel, adding to the FA’s keenness to tie him down. Doing so will allow England and their head coach to travel to the World Cup free of distractions and with clarity about the route ahead.
Comparisons will inevitably be drawn with the FA’s ill-fated decision to give Fabio Capello a new contract before the 2010 World Cup, but the circumstances were different then.
Rice is one of a number of senior England players who are impressed by Tuchel
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Capello showed no sign of wanting to strengthen his commitment to England until the eve of the tournament, when interest from Inter Milan caused him to push for new terms.
In contrast, Tuchel signalled his desire to stay long before any speculation about club jobs. At his squad announcement in November for the qualifiers against Albania and Serbia, he said that leading England beyond the World Cup was “a possibility” and enthused about the job.
“I know from many years in professional and club football what makes me happy and what brings the best out of me,” he said. “I feel re-energised and I love to work with the players and be close to the Premier League. I also know the level of support and trust I have.”
The latter was a reference to Bullingham, and the technical director, John McDermott, who drove his appointment and have forged a close working relationship with Tuchel and Barry, the assistant coach.
FA chiefs have developed a strong working relationship with Tuchel and Barry
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Bullingham led the talks with the German about staying, with McDermott and Dan Ashworth, the FA’s chief football officer, having input too.
Capello’s England bombed out in the round of 16 at the 2010 World Cup, but renewing coaches’ contracts in the run-up to tournaments has paid dividends for the FA more recently.
They gave Sarina Wiegman a new contract on significantly increased terms in 2024, and she went on to lead England to glory at the following year’s Women’s European Championship.
Capello signed a contract extension days before the 2010 World Cup, only for England to exit in the round of 16
ALEX LIVESEY/GETTY
Lee Carsley signed a fresh deal as the England Under-21 men’s coach on the eve of the 2025 European Under-21 Championship and subsequently won the finals.
Tuchel is due to attend the Nations League draw in Brussels on Thursday evening,. England are in pot three of the “A” League draw, along with Serbia, Belgium and Norway, and will be in a group with one of Portugal, France, Spain and Germany, the top seeds.
The competition begins with four fixtures played in quick succession between September 24 and October 6, with qualifying finishing in November before a finals tournament in June 2027. It is regarded as increasingly important by the leading countries.
The FA believes Tuchel gives England the best chance of winning the upcoming Nations League
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Winning it is among England’s ambitions and wanting Tuchel to be in charge for it is another factor in the FA’s thinking. However, he will be judged on his record in major tournaments, especially the World Cup. The FA confirmed on Wednesday that England would play warm-up games for the 2026 finals in Florida against New Zealand and Costa Rica, before moving to training facilities at Swope Soccer Village, Kansas City.
England open their World Cup on June 17 against Croatia in Dallas before further group fixtures against Ghana in Boston and Panama in New Jersey.
Their next fixtures are friendlies at Wembley against Uruguay on March 27 and Japan on March 31 — the last games before Tuchel names his provisional squad for the World Cup — and the head coach is in the process of formulating his squad for those games.
On Tuesday he was at the London Stadium to watch West Ham United against Manchester United and cast his eye over Kobbie Mainoo, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw, who are all hoping for recalls.