Before his first games as the Three Lions’ manager, Thomas Tuchel has given an explanation for his decision to skip the English national song. England’s first match under the 51-year-old German coach is against Albania at Wembley on March 21. Three days later, they play Latvia in a second World Cup qualifying match.
After temporarily taking over as England’s manager following Euro 2024, Lee Carsley was a candidate to succeed Gareth Southgate, but he came under fire for not singing God Save the King. The coach, who was born in Birmingham and played for the Republic of Ireland on an international level, revealed that he has always “struggled” with singing the national anthem.
Shortly after announcing his initial team for the matches against Albania and Latvia, Tuchel, England’s third foreign manager following the late Sven-Goran Eriksson and Italian tactician Fabio Capello, gave an explanation of his decision to the printed press. The former head coach of Chelsea and Bayern Munich feels that he has to “earn the right” to perform the well-known anthem prior to games.
Tuchel Explains English National Anthem Decision
German says he must ‘earn the right’ to sing God Save the King
“I think, first of all, you have a very powerful, emotional and meaningful national anthem and I could not be more proud to be on the sidelines and be in charge of the English national team,” Tuchel told reporters, as reported by Sky Sports.
“It is crucial. The national anthem is so powerful, so emotional, and so profound that I have to earn the privilege to sing it, but I can tell you that it means a lot to me.”
“I will earn it by achieving results, forming a group, performing my job well, and creating an atmosphere that may eventually lead you guys to say, ‘Now it’s time that you sing it, it feels like you properly earned it and you’re a proper English guy now,'” he added.
“Maybe I have to dive more into the culture and earn my right from you, from the players, from the supporters, so everyone feels like, ‘He should sing it now, he’s one of our own, he’s the English manager, he should sing it’.”
Tuchel’s Schedule for First England
March 21.
Albania (H)
Qualification for the World Cup
March 24
Latvia (H)
Qualification for the World Cup
June 7.
Andorra (A)
Qualification for the World Cup
June 10
H Senegal
amiable
September 6.
Andorra (H)
Qualification for the World Cup
September 9.
Serbia (H)
Qualification for the World Cup
Tuchel Defends Work-Life Balance
Insists he watches more football at home
After missing some Premier League games in the first few months of his job, Tuchel defended his work-life balance and acknowledged that he needs to learn the words to God Save the King before he can sing it.
“I was at 25 matches in the last nine weeks,” Tuchel emphasised. “I might have been able to make it to 28, but…
“I watch at least five Premier League games live on a wide-angle screen on the weekends when I don’t attend. Due to the fact that I don’t view the match before or after if I go to the stadium on a Saturday, I watch more when I’m not there than when I am.”
“I believe I did more live matches than any other head coach in international football, so it would be interesting if you make the effort to compare the live views,” he continued. Listen, I need a small amount of your trust that I will perform the task with maximum effort and excellence.
“My occasional trips to Munich to visit my kids are obviously well-known. And that’s pretty much it. Watching the Premier League on TV is a habit for my girls. They are in the adjacent room or with their father on the weekends you mentioned, and they are aware that I am observing. It doesn’t get much better.”
