Saturday, July 18th 2026
Wayne Rooney believes there is only one candidate who should replace Thomas Tuchel on the England bench.
Tuchel has faced heavy criticism from players, fans and much of the sports media following England’s 2-1 defeat to Argentina in the World Cup semi-final.
England took the lead early in the second half through Anthony Gordon’s goal, but instead looking for the second goal, the German coach did what his predecessors have often been criticized for.
The former Chelsea manager switched to a five-back formation, replacing goalscorer Gordon with Ezri Konsan, before also bringing on Dan Burn and Nico O’Reilly minutes later.
The Three Lions were punished for this defensive approach as Argentina’s constant pressure brought reversal with late goals from Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez.
After the match, Tuchel blamed a weakness in the “DNA of English football”, insisting his side are unable to control the game in the same way as Argentina or Spain.
However, the final 20 minutes of the match added to the doubts over whether the 52-year-old is the right man to lead England in The future.
According to reports, the FA continues to back Tuchel to lead the team until Euro 2028, but if he changes his mind, Wayne Rooney believes that only Pep Guardiola should be his successor.
“I don’t see anyone else at the moment, unless you can get Pep Guardiola,” said the former Manchester United striker on the “Wayne Rooney Show”.
“If Pep is then you have to go get him. I think what the best coaches do is learn from their mistakes and become even stronger. I don’t think there’s anyone better than Guardiola. The same thing happened with Fabio Capello The World Cup is different and you have to experience that atmosphere now,” he said.
Reports say England had reached a verbal agreement with Guardiola two years ago, but the Spanish coach decided to stay at Manchester City for another season.
Six months later, Tuchel was officially appointed in January 2025 and is currently expected to remain in charge until at least Euro 2028.
England was only a short minutes away from its first World Cup final in 60 years, but collapsed in the last ten minutes of the match.
Many in the stadium and in front of the screens saw what was coming, but not Tuchel. Even defender Marc Guehi was surprised by the coach’s tactical decisions in the second half.
“We had to keep going. We had to keep attacking. I felt like as soon as we scored, our mentality became: retreat and defend,” declared Guehi.
He was then asked if he believes this group of players can finally win a trophy for England.
“Nope.” I don’t know. It’s hard to think about the future now. That’s all,” replied the Manchester City defender. The fact that even the players are questioning Tuchel’s tactics shows a lot.
Source: prizrenpost
