Thomas Tuchel starts England role with triple coaching team appointment

Written by:

Andy Walker

The England men's head coach will begin his new role with a trip to Tottenham Hotspur v Newcastle United

THOMAS TUCHEL BIO

Thomas Tuchel has begun work as he prepares to attend his first Premier League fixtures as England senior men’s head coach this weekend.

Along with assistant coach Anthony Barry, who was announced in October, Tuchel will be immediately joined by Henrique Hilário, Nicolas Mayer and James Melbourne. The trio will work alongside existing England senior men’s staff with further updates to the coaching team to be confirmed in due course.

Hilário joins as goalkeeping coach from Chelsea, where he has held a similar position since 2016. The former international goalkeeper made nearly 300 appearances during a 20-year playing career that spanned Portugal and England, notably eight seasons in the Premier League with Chelsea.

Mayer is a performance coach who has previously worked with Tuchel at both Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich.

Analyst Melbourne also arrives from Chelsea after a spell of almost 20 years that included a host of domestic and continental honours.

Henrique Hilario with the Chelsea goalkeepers following their UEFA Champions League title victory in 2021

Lee Carsley and those staff who supported the senior team on an interim basis across the autumn have now returned to their roles with the MU21s, ahead of this summer’s UEFA U21 European Championship in Slovakia.

Tuchel and his support team are already preparing for England’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign and plan to take in their first round of club fixtures starting with Tottenham Hotspur v Newcastle United on Saturday.

The Three Lions start 2025 with qualifiers against Albania and Latvia on 21 and 24 March respectively, with both matches at Wembley Stadium.

Tickets for the Albania fixture go on sale exclusively to England Supporters Travel Club members from 12pm on Thursday 9 January. For more information, click here.