The Football Association has defended its decision to delay Thomas Tuchel’s start as England manager until January.
Tuchel was officially unveiled at Wembley on Wednesday after signing an 18-month deal which will see him take charge of England until after the World Cup in 2026.
However, interim manager Lee Carsley will remain in place for England’s two Nations League games against Greece and the Republic of Ireland in November.
The FA has faced criticism over its call to start Tuchel’s reign at the start of 2025, given that the 51-year-old has been available since the summer after leaving Bayern Munich.
But the FA’s CEO Mark Bullingham believes the decision allows Tuchel to fully focus on England’s World Cup qualifying campaign which will begin next year.
‘I think we always said to Lee he would have three camps and we were very clear he would run the Nations League campaign,’ Bullingham said.
‘I think when we first spoke to Thomas, Thomas wanted to have the singular focus on the World Cup.
‘So it just made sense from both sides to start on January 1.’
When it was suggested there is ‘zero sense’ in leaving Carsley in charge for England’s two Nations League games in November, Bullingham replied: ‘It’s not a question of not allowing, when we first spoke to him we had our timescale, Thomas had his timescale, it just fitted really well.
‘What was so impressive was his singular focus on us and the World Cup. We spoke about trying to put a second star on the shirt, and that project made sense for it to start on January 1 and made sense for Lee to finish the campaign for the Nations League.
‘We are very comfortable where we are and that’s what we’ll be doing.’
Tuchel, meanwhile, made it clear that he is happy to return to living in London following his stint at Chelsea.
‘I love to live in England and I’m looking forward to living again in England,’ Tuchel said.
‘I want to be close to the Premier League, I want to be close to the majority of the players.
‘But of course, the schedule will allow me to be close to my family and my children in Germany. But yeah, I will be in England most of the time.’
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