Thomas Tuchel on life as England coach, his philosophy and World Cup qualifying expectations

At long last, new England coach Thomas Tuchel is set for his Wembley managerial debut as his side host Albania on 21 March and Latvia three days later to kick off their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.

With his appointment announced in October, the former Dortmund, Paris, Chelsea and Bayern tactician officially started his role in January, and has thus had a bit of time to get his feet under the table.

Speaking to UEFA.com, Tuchel discussed how he has experienced the job so far, his love of the English game and what kind of style he is aiming to implement on the Three Lions.

Tuchel on the job so far

It's been quite exciting. More intense than I thought it would be, a lot of travelling, a lot of meetings, a lot of phone calls. But it was the right choice, and I feel better every day.

It’s a pleasure to talk to [the players], it’s a pleasure to be close to them. Every player I contacted was a very unique conversation but it’s exciting to be on board with them. And let’s try to go for the big prize. We know what it takes and we know it’s a big ask to go for it, but we will try.

Tuchel on his football philosophy

We need to connect to our fans. They need to feel us. They need to feel that we compete as a team, they need to feel a togetherness and they need to feel a bond between these players, and a brotherhood. I believe very strongly that, especially in international football, this makes a difference.

The Premier League brings out the very best [in] these players, they have the character. Now, it’s our job to find the best team, not only the best players. It’s very important that we find principles and a structure that we can learn quickly. This will be the task for me because we will [bring together] players from different clubs, different styles, and the challenge is to transform this into one idea that also reflects, of course, the core of the Premier League – a physical game, an attacking game, an exciting game that our fans would like to watch.

Tuchel on how others would describe him

As a person? Hopefully generous, funny, stubborn, ambitious, and very bad at answering phone calls and text messages. That’s maybe what they would say about me. Maybe not the same as a coach. Very ambitious and very demanding.

Football is my passion in life – I can breathe it, live it every single day without getting bored. It excites me. In general, I’m very grateful for these opportunities, and being England's national coach is very, very special.

Tuchel on his first two games

I’m longing for the pitch, I have to say. I’m happy with all the work we’re doing now, but someone told me this might be the best-prepared training of all time. Maybe they’re right. We want to start winning against Albania and Latvia. We want to set a strong home record of winning and start on the front foot.

We should prepare for a difficult group and for difficult matches. There is no such thing as easy matches anymore. People and other teams will make our lives difficult, and we should be prepared for that. In general, our target is very clear – we want to qualify after the group stage and get ready for America.

Tuchel on trying to end 60 years of hurt

That’s why we’re here, and we shouldn't be shy about our targets. We have to buy into the idea, naturally, that we have to take it step by step. We can’t start dreaming about New Jersey in 2026. We have to fully focus on what we do in our first camp, then the second camp. We need to prepare. We increase our chances, the more focused we are now, in the here and now, but the target and the dream are clear.