What to expect from Thomas Tuchel as England manager? Tactics, style of play, stats & more

Appointed as England manager until the culmination of the 2026 World Cup, Thomas Tuchel’s remit is clear – end the Three Lions’ 60-year wait for major silverware.

The third foreign manager in England’s history following Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello, the German enters the job with a world-class CV having previously led clubs of the calibre of Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich.

A winner of the biggest prize in club football in the form of the UEFA Champions League with Chelsea in 2021, we take a look at what to expect from Tuchel in charge of England as the 51-year-old prepares to mount an assault on the most prestigious trophy in the international sphere in two years’ time.

Thomas Tuchel tactics & style of play

Tactical flexibility

Supporters of the England national team will likely be most familiar with Tuchel in reference to his tenure as Chelsea manager between 2021 and 2022, with the German achieving success with a back-five formation utilising three central defenders and two wing-backs.

Inheriting a struggling Chelsea team who were languishing in mid-table in the Premier League under predecessor Frank Lampard, Tuchel immediately settled on a 3-4-2-1 formation which helped get the best out of the players at his disposal.

Defensive veteran Thiago Silva starred at the heart of a trio of centre-backs, Reece James and Ben Chilwell thrived as wing-backs and a reborn N’Golo Kante shone in an all-action midfield role alongside Jorginho.

Tuchel’s success at Stamford Bridge was defined by guiding the club to a top four finish and delivering a second UEFA Champions League title, but his time in West London does not provide a full picture of his coaching philosophy.

Unlike fellow former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte, who has opted to deploy a back five formation across spells in English and Italian football, Tuchel is not a coach who abides by a commitment to one defined tactical structure.

Instead Tuchel ought to be recognised as a manager who moulds teams in line with their specific strengths.

This was vividly demonstrated by his approach in Paris, with Tuchel becoming the first manager ever to lead two different clubs to consecutive UEFA Champions League finals in 2020 before Paris Saint-Germain ultimately succumbed to Bayern Munich in Lisbon.

Tuchel sought to maximise the impact of star players Neymar and Kylian Mbappe on each flank within a 4-3-3 set up in the French capital, composing a more workmanlike midfield unit akin to Jurgen KIopp’s preferred structure at Liverpool to account for the attacking freedom of his front three.

This begs the question as to how Tuchel could measure the competitive advantages of his selection pool as England manager.

Given the wealth of quality in attacking areas, and a conspicuous problem area at left-back, it would be a surprise to see the German elect to employ a wing-back system comparable to that overseen at Stamford Bridge as manager of this English squad.

Tuchel is unlikely to run with just one formation either, with his willingness and borderline eagerness to constantly adapt a key pillar of his coaching identity.

In a move away from his predecessor Southgate’s tendency to favour one formation at a time and reluctance to tinker too much from England’s way of playing, Tuchel is very much a shapeshifter.

In a manner befitting a chess grand master, Tuchel is always seeking to stay one step ahead of the opposition and make tactical changes to personnel and formations when necessary.

This could see England adopt a variety of systems during his tenure, with mid-game transitions to and from back four and back three set ups also not uncommon under Tuchel’s tutelage.

Klopp meets Guardiola

Introduced to coaching and mentored by ex-Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick, Tuchel is very much a proponent of the tactical principle of gegenpressing – one of the most pervasive ways of playing at the elite level of the sport this century.

Capturing universal acclaim amidst the success of compatriot and fellow Rangnick comrade Klopp at Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool, gegenpressing applies emphasis on players immediately seeking to win back the ball after losing possession.

Tuchel’s adoption of gegenpressing has become less intense than that of his compatriot Klopp, with the new England manager’s approach having been described as more indie alternative in comparison to the heavy metal style of the Liverpool legend.

In contrast to the often cavalier way in which Liverpool at the peak of their powers under Klopp pressed, Tuchel’s teams are more calculated and structured in their way of playing without the ball.

This reflects the often intricate nature of Tuchel’s tactics, with the German applying his own nuances to the gegenpressing school of thought in relation to factors such as the position of the defensive line and which triggers to act upon.

As for Tuchel’s ideas for when his team have the ball, the former Rangnick disciple has become more and more enamoured by controlling possession as his managerial career has progressed.

Seeking to fuse his coaching background in German football and the principle of gegenpressing with the possession-oriented Cruyffian ethos famously endorsed by Ajax and Barcelona, Tuchel can be acknowledged to have moved closer towards Pep Guardiola’s way of thinking.

His ever-evolving tactical innovations are regularly geared towards allowing his team to assume numerical superiority across the pitch and create overloads so as to dominate possession.

This emphasis on possession has seen Tuchel teams become characterised by a three-player defensive build-up to allow for fluid playing out from the back.

Tuchel has also notably become fond of utilising technically proficient playmakers at the heart of midfield, charged with dictating the tempo of possession and quickly recycling possession.

Such trusted lieutenants include Julian Weigl at Dortmund, Marco Verratti at PSG and Jorginho at Chelsea, with Tuchel perhaps pertinently struggling to settle on a player for this role during his short-lived stint with Bayern.

Tuchel’s teams are therefore required to be versatile, athletic, willing to take on complex tactical instructions and capable of dominating the ball.

The installation of the intense Tuchel as England manager may prove a shock to the system for one of the finest generations of footballing talent the country has ever produced, but this may ultimately be exactly what is required to end the Three Lions’ long and agonising wait for genuine glory.

Possible England XI under Thomas Tuchel

(4-2-3-1): Pickford, Alexander-Arnold, Stones, Guehi, Colwill, Rice, Bellingham, Saka, Palmer, Gordon, Kane.

Thomas Tuchel trophies

Borussia Dortmund:

• DFB-Pokal - 2017/18

Paris Saint-Germain:

• Ligue 1 - 2018/19, 2019/20
• Coupe de France - 2019/20
• Coupe de la Ligue - 2019/20
• Trophee des Champions - 2018, 2019

Chelsea:

• UEFA Champions League - 2020/21
• UEFA Super Cup - 2021
• FIFA Club World Cup - 2021

Bayern Munich:

• Bundesliga - 2022/23

Thomas Tuchel stats

Team	Tenure	Win %
FC Augsburg II	2007 - 2008	58.8
Mainz 05	2009 - 2014	39.1
Borussia Dortmund	2015 - 2017	62.6
Paris Saint-Germain	2018 - 2020	74.8
Chelsea	2021 - 2022	60.0
Bayern Munich	2023 - 2024	60.66

Thomas Tuchel: What they said

"I would give my life on the pitch for Thomas Tuchel. He is a brilliant man."

(Neymar, 2019).

"He's so creative. One of the few managers I learn from. Excellent in all departments. I enjoy watching his teams, the way he plays [and] his approach."

(Pep Guardiola, 2022).

"His way is really exceptional. He is an outstanding coach and outstanding manager."

(Jurgen Klopp, 2022).

"Obviously, I know Thomas well from last year. Fantastic coach and fantastic person."

(Harry Kane, 2024).