Tuchel's England mission

Is he the man with the golden touch?

- MALIK OUZIA

The 2021 Champions League final was not a classic. It was settled by the odd goal, slid into an empty net by Kai Havertz. The highlights package is a nine-minute showreel of Timo Werner misses and last-ditch tackles on Manchester City forwards in the Chelsea box. To all but Chelsea fans, European football's second Covid showpiece was an utterly forgettable affair. And yet, with the appointment of its architect to the England post this week, it is about to get a whole lot of airtime.

At the final whistle in Porto, Thomas Tuchel dropped to his knees, the wire-frame in the Deloitte-boy gilet having upset the odds and Pep Guardiola as well. The FA has not made Tuchel the new England manager solely because he led Chelsea to the Champions League three summers ago, but that triumph neatly encapsulates the ultimate vision for the 51-year-old’s reign.

The FA’s hope is that Tuchel will be the man to get this nearly-England “over the line” (a phrase he used three times during Wednesday’s unveiling), a coach good enough to find a way even if England come up against a superior Spain or a cannier Italy next time silverware is on the line.

When football’s greatest game is next played in New Jersey on July 19, 2026, the first German coach of England is desperate to be there, in a Marks & Sparks outfit, with a Three Lions baseball cap on his head and the World Cup in his hands.

Eyes on the prize

If the appointment of Tuchel was not in itself enough confirmation that, after steady progress under Gareth Southgate, England is in win-now mode, then the accompanying comments of FA chief Mark Bullingham made the point clear.

“Thomas and the team have a single-minded focus on giving us the best possible chance to win the World Cup in 2026,” Bullingham said. With a home Euros only two years beyond that, the laser-focus on a closer target is significant.