FA Supports Tuchel Amid Guardiola's England Rumors

Pep Guardiola once shook hands on a “verbal agreement” to manage England. He never walked through the door. Now, with Thomas Tuchel under fire after a brutal World Cup exit, that near-miss is back in the spotlight.

England’s semi-final defeat to Argentina – a late collapse after leading – has ripped open the debate around Tuchel’s future. The criticism has been sharp and specific: game management, substitutions, the approach once the pressure rose and Lionel Scaloni’s side surged back. A place in the final slipped away in the closing stages, and with it, a sense of inevitability has crept into the post-mortem.

Into that vacuum, one name dominates the conversation. Guardiola. Fresh out of Manchester City at the end of last season, the Catalan is currently a free agent and, crucially, is understood to have been ready to take the England job once before.

According to The Athletic, the Football Association’s courtship of Guardiola was not a vague flirtation. He had, the report claims, verbally agreed to succeed Gareth Southgate, only to reverse course and extend his stay at City. England, left without their first choice, pivoted. The search ended with Tuchel’s appointment in January 2025.

That decision is now being tested by public opinion. Calls for Tuchel’s dismissal have grown louder since the defeat to Argentina, with many supporters and pundits pointing straight back to Guardiola as the dream solution. The logic is simple: England’s most talented generation in decades, managed by the man who turned City into a serial winner.

The reality inside the FA is more complicated – and far less volatile.

Despite the noise, the governing body has reaffirmed its commitment to Tuchel. Senior figures are said to be standing squarely behind the German after a campaign that, on paper, delivered a World Cup semi-final, only the fourth time in England’s history they have reached the last four.

The contract reflects that faith. Tuchel signed an extension earlier this year that ties him to the job through Euro 2028, and the FA’s long-term planning has been built around him. There were performance-related clauses that could have opened the door to an amicable split, but they were tightly drawn: both parties could have agreed to part ways only if England had gone out before the quarter-finals.

That safety valve never came close to being used. When the draw made it likely England would face Mexico at the Estadio Azteca in the last 16, a further exemption was added, insulating Tuchel even more. His side then edged a wild 3-2 contest in Mexico City, survived the pressure, and pushed on to the semi-finals. By the time Argentina broke English hearts, those clauses were already irrelevant.

The FA will still conduct its standard post-tournament review, as it always does. Yet the framework is clear: reaching the last four has secured Tuchel’s position. Barring an extraordinary shift in stance, he will remain in charge.

Tuchel, for his part, has shown no desire to walk away. He has spoken positively about the role throughout his tenure and, earlier this year, turned down interest from Manchester United after the sacking of Ruben Amorim. United made their checks; Tuchel stayed put.

So where does that leave Guardiola?

He is out of work and, by all accounts, would “presumably” still be open to the England post, having once agreed in principle to take it. The timing, though, is awkward. England have a manager with a fresh contract, a semi-final on his record, and an FA that has built a cycle around him.

The public may dream of Guardiola in an England tracksuit. The FA, for now, are betting that Tuchel is the man who can turn near-miss into silverware by the time Euro 2028 comes around.