Thomas Tuchel had one job and he failed – it’s time for him to go | Football | Sport

When Thomas Tuchel was announced as England manager back in October 2024, I was against it. The manager is part of an international squad and, like the players, should be eligible to represent that nation. And the second point is the precedent – no foreign manager has ever won the World Cup and only one has lifted the European Championship. This is England’s football team, perennial underachievers for 60 years – not the nation that should be looking to buck that trend.

Yes, the depth of quality to follow Gareth Southgate, the most successful England manager since Sir Alf Ramsay, was shallow when looking close to home, but after the failures of Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello, the appointment of Tuchel looked like a return to the bad days.

But when England headed to the United States for the World Cup and Tuchel built his squad for the tournament, I changed. Now was the time to back him. And while others pointed out the madness of not selecting Trent Alexander-Arnold, and instead picked the likes of Jordan Henderson and Dan Burn, I defended him.

Tuchel had selected a squad, not individuals. These were players to lead by example, who would be happy to be a bit part of something, rather than sulking on the bench. Tuchel’s 26 was not England’s best players, but a blend of personalities Tuchel believed would be strong enough to have a chance of winning the tournament on a foreign continent, a long period away from home. It was bold and it was welcome.

As the tournament progressed and the squad’s flaws at right-back, for example, became apparent – who knew Reece James would pick up yet another injury apart from everyone – I stuck by Tuchel. His team selections were sound. It revolved around getting Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham the chances they would undoubtedly take.

Performances weren’t flawless, but as the likes of Germany and Brazil crashed, we continued with glimpses of brilliance and incredible resilience, as shown in the dogged win at the Azteca against Mexico. And while victory over Norway was far from plain sailing, we were through. Tuchel saw us over the line.

The attack on the players that led ITV’s Gabriel Clarke to go skipping over to Bellingham to get him riled – great television but read the room Gabriel – was seen by many as a bad move by Tuchel. Not me, the players needed hunger, fight and fury to go all the way – say it like it is, Tommy.

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Then, for an hour of the semi-final against Argentina, everything was going to plan. A tenacious display against a side desperate to cheat their way to the final. So, what happened next Thomas? It was like Southgate having a panic attack. Off came the goalscorer, and the defence was beefed up. We did it against Mexico, understandably with us, but this wasn’t Mexico.

This was the world champions with Lionel Messi, the greatest footballer ever, leading the line. As they pummelled the England box, Tuchel sent his side deeper and deeper, refusing to go for the jugular and kill off Argentina and instead forced his side to cower in their own box. It was feeble.

Southgate’s collapse in the Euros final against Italy was nothing compared to this. Tuchel didn’t even call on the pace of Ollie Watkins or the skill of Bukayo Saka to stretch the Argentina defence, of which both centre-backs had been yellow-carded.

And, just like that, the World Cup was over. England had wasted another glorious opportunity, arguably our best since ’66. And those 30 minutes plus injury time show why Tuchel must go.

His job was to do what Southgate could never do. Get us a trophy, or at least to a World Cup final. But this World Cup must be considered a failure. Victory over Croatia, Panama, DR Congo, Mexico and Norway is hardly a glowing list of success and when it really came down to it, England failed. Now Tuchel must do the honourable thing and quit.