Thomas Tuchel confirms whether he will sing England’s national anthem

Thomas Tuchel insists he will sing England’s national anthem– but only when he feels he has earned the right.

The former Chelsea head coach named his first Three Lions squad on Friday afternoon ahead of his opening games in charge next week in World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia.

Lee Carsley briefly took the reins as England boss last year following Gareth Southgate’s decision to walk away from the job, stepping up from his role as Under-21 boss to lead the senior side.

During his time in the dugout, Carsley, born in England and of Irish decent having represented the Boys in Green at international level, opted not to sign the anthem.

Tuchel is the first German coach to manage the English national side but says he will proudly sign God Save The King – but not ahead of his opening matches in charge next week.

‘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,’ Tuchel said on Friday.

‘It means everything. But I can feel 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. That’s why I decided that I will not sing it in my first matches.

‘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.”‘

Facing the media on Friday afternoon, Tuchel also refused to answer a question in German.

The 51-year-old offered his thoughts on the squad and explained some of the more controversial selections.

At one point, a reporter from German broadcaster ARD asked Tuchel what he has learned since taking over at the start of January and requested he responded in his native German tongue.

‘Good morning, I understand I’m asking the question in English but if you could answer in English and in German I will waive my second question,’ the journalist said.

But Tuchel denied the request following a quick glance at his media officer, saying: ‘I would like to do it just in English out of respect to where we are and all the others [reporters] here.

‘What have I learned? Every day I am more happy that I took the decision to come here and was given the chance to manage the England squad.

‘We’ve had a good start together – me and the federation – but also with the coaching staff and the players.

‘Communication is more difficult than in club football but we are all very excited to get on the pitch together.’

England fans enjoyed Tuchel’s response, with one saying the 51-year-old clearly ‘gets it’.

Another posted on X: ‘Love the fact Thomas Tuchel refused to answer a question in his press conference in German.’

Asked how it has felt to be head coach of England as a German, Tuchel added: ‘Exciting and a bit surreal.

‘It’s a big honour and I’m very proud of it. I’m very well aware of it – that it’s a special honour to have the chance to coach this team as a foreign coach.

‘I will make sure I earn my right to be in this place.’ 

England take on Albania next Friday night in Tuchel’s first game in charge, before another World Cup qualifier against Latvia the following Monday.

Marcus Rashford – currently on loan at Aston Villa from Manchester United – and veteran midfielder Jordan Henderson were both recalled by Tuchel.

‘Everyone who is with us on this journey and in this first camp is a contender for the World Cup,’ he said. ‘Every player is part of this first step.

‘At the same time, it’s only the first step so the nomination is not the nomination for America. We had tough decisions to take and we didn’t make it easy for ourselves.

‘We waited very long until Champions League games were over until we took our last decisions. It is important to be in the first camp and if you are in the first camp, you are in the first step of the journey.

‘There were some very hard decisions, some more obvious and some more hidden but there are some very close decisions and there are some players not in the squad who absolutely did enough and deserved to be in the squad.

‘But it comes with the job – everyone talks about it and everyone has a strong opinion on it. It’s fair enough.’

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