Thomas Tuchel's appointment as England head coach gives the Three Lions the best possible chance of lifting the World Cup in 2026.
That is the view of FA chief executive Mark Bullingham, who believes the former Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss ranks among the world's best coaches.
On Wednesday, Tuchel was confirmed as Gareth Southgate's permanent successor, with the German set to take charge on January 1 after interim boss Lee Carsley oversees England's remaining Nations League fixtures against Greece and the Republic of Ireland.
Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino had also been linked to the post in recent months, and Bullingham says the FA always intended to appoint a proven winner.
"We are thrilled to have hired Thomas Tuchel, one of the best coaches in the world and Anthony Barry who is one of the best English coaches to support him," he said in a press release.
"Our recruitment process has been very thorough. Before the Euros we had a contingency plan and outlined exactly the qualities we would be looking for in a coach.
"Since Gareth resigned, we have worked through the candidate pool, meeting a number of coaches and evaluating them against that criteria. Thomas was very impressive and stood out with his vast expertise and his drive.
"Anthony is a top English talent and also has international experience with the Republic of Ireland, Belgium and Portugal.
"Fundamentally we wanted to hire a coaching team to give us the best possible chance of winning a major tournament, and we believe they will do just that.
"Thomas and the team have a single-minded focus on giving us the best possible chance to win the World Cup in 2026."
Carsley has won three of his four games at the helm, but oversaw a humiliating 2-1 defeat to Greece at Wembley last week and will now return to his role as Under-21s head coach.
Bullingham believes the former Republic of Ireland international has a big future, however, adding: "I would like to thank Lee for stepping up and doing everything we asked of him – he is a very talented coach and a major part of our England pathway.
"He will now focus on retaining the Under-21 Euro title in the summer. These are exciting times for England fans at senior and Under-21 level, and we look forward to welcoming Thomas and Anthony when they begin work in January."
Arteta says in-form Havertz has 'another level' to reach
Mikel Arteta believes Kai Havertz still has a further level to reach after enjoying an excellent start to the season with Arsenal, who go to Bournemouth when the Premier League resumes on Saturday.
Arsenal emerge from the second international break of 2024-25 one point adrift of Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table with 17 points from seven matches.
With four goals and an assist, Havertz has been a key factor in their positive start, excelling in his new false nine role and scoring a crucial equaliser as they fought back to beat Southampton 3-1 before the hiatus.
Asked if Havertz was now playing with greater confidence, Arteta said: "You can tell. He takes the ball and he runs with the ball.
"He's on the high press, he goes full gas, the way he holds the ball, the positions he takes in the box. When he plays as a nine, you don't know where he is, that's his football brain.
"His focus now is, 'I'm going to win the game, I'm going to do it', and that's a different thing.
"He wants more and he's not satisfied with what he's doing because there is still, I think, another level from him."
Opponents Bournemouth are 14th with eight points, having suffered a demoralising 1-0 defeat to previously winless Leicester City two weeks ago.
After that game, boss Andoni Iraola told BBC Sport: "It's difficult to explain, you need to score. We had a disallowed goal, hit the post, the crossbar, we had enough chances to win.
"We have to give merit to their offensive side but on the other side we are missing very clear chances. There are chances that you cannot miss altogether.
"We have to be more clinical and it is hurting us. All the games apart from Liverpool we have created more chances, but we are not getting the points."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Bournemouth – Antoine Semenyo
Bournemouth have had more shot-ending high turnovers than any other side in the Premier League this season (18), while only three sides have faced fewer such shots than the Cherries (six).
Semenyo, who leads all Bournemouth players for goal involvements (four – three goals, one assist) and successful dribbles (12) this term could have a key role to play on the counter.
Arsenal – Kai Havertz
Havertz has been involved in 20 goals in his last 21 Premier League appearances (13 goals, seven assists).
His first goal for Arsenal came in this exact fixture last season, as he converted a penalty in a 4-0 victory for the Gunners. Could he be in for more joy on the south coast?
MATCH PREDICTION – ARSENAL WIN
Arsenal are unbeaten in all 10 of their games in all competitions so far this season (seven wins, three draws) – they last had a longer unbeaten run from the start of a campaign in 2007-08 (first 21).
They are chasing a landmark victory, as their 3-1 win over Southampton last time out was their 1,999th top-flight triumph. Victory here would see them become the second English side to reach 2,000, after Liverpool (2,065).
Bournemouth, meanwhile, have lost 11 of their 14 Premier League games against Arsenal, though all three exceptions have been at home (3-3 in January 2017, 2-1 in January 2018, 1-1 in December 2019).
But a repeat should not be expected here. Each of Bournemouth's last 10 Premier League wins have been against sides in the bottom half of the table.
Andoni Iraola's men are winless in their last 11 matches against sides in the top half since beating Manchester United 3-0 in December last year (four draws, seven losses).
Arsenal boast a tremendous record against the Cherries lately, too. Since Bournemouth returned to the Premier League in 2022, the Gunners have won all four of their meetings with the Cherries by an aggregate score 13-2, netting three or more goals each time.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Bournemouth – 16.1%
Arsenal – 65.2%
Draw – 18.7%
Silva aiming to repeat ‘courage’ of Man City display against Villa
Marco Silva is hoping Fulham’s 3-2 defeat to champions Manchester City will give his players “courage” against Aston Villa upon their return to Premier League action.
The Cottagers went toe-to-toe with Pep Guardiola’s side before the international break but were made to rue missed opportunities during the contest, with Adama Traore the most notable for squandering some gilt-edged chances at the Etihad.
However, Silva is confident his team can take encouragement from their display as they aim to maintain their unbeaten record at Craven Cottage this season.
“To see City finish with three central defenders with five at the back shows that we were creating problems for them, not just in transition,” Silva said.
“It gives us courage. We know what we are capable of doing, and it gives us the confidence to keep going in the direction that we want to go in, and to stick with our philosophy as a team.
“Looking at the chances that we did create throughout the game and comparing with City, we deserved more. But that’s football.”
Unai Emery, meanwhile, insisted his Aston Villa side will be raring to go when they return to domestic action after their stalemate with Manchester United last time out.
It was the Villans’ first goalless draw at Villa Park in the Premier League since May 2021, while the expected goals (xG) total between the two sides was just 1.05 – the lowest in a top-flight match so far this season.
With the international break allowing Villa to recuperate after a busy September schedule that saw them start their Champions League campaign with two wins, returning players will be a welcome addition, the Spaniard believes.
“It’s a nice moment to rest. This week we are going to work and recover some players. We are going to add [Boubacar] Kamara and [Tyrone] Mings, which is very good news. Hopefully some injured players can come back for the next match against Fulham,” Emery said.
“We will need players. Today we were more or less with some players out and we needed fresh players with good legs in the second half to help get our objective in this match.
“The players were really focusing on this match and gave their best. I’m happy because we are feeling strong here with our supporters and keeping a good position in the league and Champions League targeting our objectives. We are going to try to get there.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Fulham – Andreas Pereira
No player has played more passes (including crosses) into the opposition box than Fulham’s Pereira in the Premier League this season (64), with the Brazilian also creating the most chances from set plays (16).
Pereira has also created 23 chances overall this term (level with Cole Palmer and Dwight McNeil), a total only bettered by Arsenal's Bukayo Saka (27) in the Premier League so far.
Aston Villa – Jhon Duran
After netting in midweek while on international duty with Colombia, Duran will be hoping to continue his remarkable scoring streak at Craven Cottage.
Duran has four goals in just 184 minutes of action in the Premier League this season, averaging a goal every 46 minutes so far. This is the best minutes-per-goal ratio of anyone to feature for at least 90 minutes this term.
MATCH PREDICTION: FULHAM WIN
Fulham are unbeaten in their three Premier League home games so far this season (W2 D1). They last had a longer run without defeat at Craven Cottage from the start of a campaign in 2011-12 (four).
The Cottagers lost this exact fixture 2-1 in February last season, though they have never lost consecutive home league games against Aston Villa before.
However, they face an uphill task against Emery’s men, who are unbeaten in their last five league games (W3 D2), though their 0-0 draw with United last time out was their first clean sheet in 12 Premier League matches.
Visits to London have proven fruitful for the Villans in recent years. They have lost just one of their last 12 Premier League games in the capital (W8 D3). Their eight wins in this time (all under Emery) are as many as they’d managed in their previous 48 top-flight games in London.
Villa have also won five of their last six Premier League games against Fulham (L1), including the last three in a row. It’s more wins than they’d managed in their previous 19 against the Cottagers in the top-flight (W4 D10 L5), while they’ve never won four in a row against them in their league history.
No team has scored more goals from crosses than Aston Villa in the Premier League this season (five). No player has scored more such goals than Ollie Watkins (two), while Lucas Digne and Youri Tielemans have two such assists each – only Saka (four) has more.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Fulham – 40.5%
Draw – 25.5%
Aston Villa – 34%
Tuchel's career in numbers after Three Lions appointment
Exactly three months after Gareth Southgate announced he would step down as England's head coach, Thomas Tuchel has been named as his permanent successor.
Tuchel has signed an 18-month contract to take charge of the Three Lions, which will begin on January 1, with interim boss Lee Carsley remaining at the helm until the conclusion of their Nations League campaign.
The experienced German coach certainly ticks the FA's box in terms of appointing "a proven winner", having won league titles in two different countries as well as the Champions League and Club World Cup.
Here, we look at the key numbers in the career of the former Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich coach.
Third time lucky?
Having been out of work since leaving Bayern at the end of last season, Tuchel becomes the 16th permanent manager to take charge of England.
The first German to take over the Three Lions' reins, he is only the third non-English coach to do so, following in the footsteps of the late Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.
The 51-year-old arrives in the job with a 57.3% win ratio across his career, winning 331 of his 578 matches.
Unlike Eriksson and Capello, who were unable to add international silverware to their glittering CVs, Tuchel also takes up the role with previous experience of coaching in England following his 19-month spell with Chelsea.
With England having reached two successive European Championship finals under Southgate, he will hope to provide them with that missing ingredient to get them over the line.
Thomas Tuchel. Our #ThreeLions head coach from 2025.
— England (@England) October 16, 2024Previous English experience
Tuchel's time in England with Chelsea was relatively brief, lasting 589 days and 100 games, but it ultimately proved to be successful.
A runner-up with PSG the previous year, he became the first coach to reach successive European finals with two different clubs when he guided the Blues to glory in 2021.
Tuchel also added the Club World Cup later that year, and went on to be the first manager in the club's history to reach the final in each of the Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup.
No Chelsea manager has reached more major domestic or European finals than the 51-year-old (four), whose 60% win rate is the fourth-highest of any Blues boss to take charge of at least 100 matches.
Although, statistically, the west London side slightly tailed off defensively towards the end of his tenure. After registering 31 clean sheets in his first 50 matches in charge, they kept just 18 in his second 50 at the helm.
Bittersweet Bayern tenure
Under Tuchel, Bayern saw their 11-year grip on the Bundesliga title slip at the hands of Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen last season.
Nevertheless, he still managed to make a positive impact at the Allianz Arena after replacing Julian Nagelsmann in March 2023.
As Bayern dramatically snatched the 2022-23 title from under the noses of his former side Borussia Dortmund, he became only the second coach in Bundesliga history to take over a team in the second half of a season and win the league.
The only previous case came in 1993-94, also with Bayern, when Franz Beckenbauer took over from Erich Ribbeck.
Last season, he also became the first German coach to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League with three different clubs, as Bayern were denied a place in the final by eventual winners Real Madrid.
Tuchel's impressive Champions League pedigree is further highlighted by the fact he has the third-highest win percentage in the tournament's history (59.7%), behind only Pep Guardiola (63.6%) and Louis van Gaal (60%).
His appointment will see him link up once more with Three Lions skipper Harry Kane, who scored 44 goals in 45 games during his tenure at the Allianz Arena.
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