FIFA WC : ‘Not yet. I think…’ England coach Thomas Tuchel on singing national anthem

“Not yet. I think we are not there yet. At the very end maybe. I am still a bit shy. I don’t want to offend people and don’t want to have the focus on that now,” Tuchel told the media ahead of the team’s opener. When asked if he knows the words of the national anthem, Tuchel replied in affirmative.. “It’s not so difficult,“ he added.

The German coach was appointed England’s head coach in March last year after Gareth Southgate resigned from the job after England’s Euro 2024 exit. Tuchel, who has guided Paris Saint Germain and Bayern Munich to Ligue 1 and Bundesliga titles respectively apart from coaching Chelsea to the Champions League title in 2020-2021, has seen England win all of their FFA World Cup Qualifying matches with the team winning eight matches in the qualification. Under Tuchel the England team has won a total of 11 matches out of 14 matches with a loss each against Japan and Senegal apart from a draw against Uruguay. Tuchel is also one of the two England coaches till present, who have won nine of their first ten matches as England’s coach with the first being Glen Hoddle. The 52-year-old, who is based in the German city of Munich, flies to England for the preparatory camps and has been spending his time in England since March ahead of the World Cup preparations. Tuchel also spoke about how he feels at home when he lands in England and how he felt the same while training England club side Chelsea earlier in his career. “I can’t explain it but it felt like this from the first weeks at Chelsea. It just felt so good to be in the country and a part of the Premier League. Every day was a gift almost. What the league brings out of players and what the fans expect from the players, the coach made me feel very comfortable. I liked it from the first day. I cannot say often enough, it’s an honour for me to be England head coach. I feel basically at home when I land. I would say now: ‘I fly home.’ I fly home to my home in London. It feels like home when I land in London and I’m in England.” Tuchel said.

Last year, Tuchel had spoken about how he has to earn his right to sing the national anthem and how he can earn his rights with results. “First of all, you have a very powerful, emotional and meaningful national anthem and I could not be more proud to be on the sideline and be in charge of the English national team. It means everything. But I can feel it because it is that meaningful and it is that emotional and it is so powerful that I have to earn my right to sing it. I feel that it is not just a given. You cannot just sing it. I will earn the right with results, with building a group, with doing my job properly and by creating a feeling where maybe even you guys (in the media) say at some point: ‘Now it’s time that you sing it. It feels like you properly earn it and you’re a proper English guy now!’ 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 had told media ahead of the start of England’s World Cup Qualification round matches in March last year.