Wayne Rooney calls on England to quickly hire a ‘top-class’ manager to replace Thomas Tuchel.
Wayne Rooney thinks there’s only one person who should take over from Thomas Tuchel as England’s manager.
Tuchel has faced a lot of criticism from players, fans, and football experts after England’s 2-1 loss to Argentina in the World Cup semi-finals. England took the lead early in the second half with a goal from Anthony Gordon, but instead of pushing for a second goal, the team made a defensive change some say held them back. Tuchel swapped Gordon for Ezri Konsa and later brought on Dan Burn and Nico O’Reilly, turning to a five-man defense.
This cautious approach allowed Argentina to put pressure on England, and they scored late goals through Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez to win the game. Tuchel blamed a weakness in “English football DNA,” saying his team couldn’t control the game like Argentina or Spain do.
The last 20 minutes of the match made many wonder if Tuchel is the right person to lead England going forward. Reports say the FA still supports Tuchel to coach England for Euro 2028, but if they change their mind, Rooney believes Pep Guardiola is the best replacement.
“I don’t see anyone else right now except maybe Pep Guardiola,” Rooney said on his show. “If Pep’s available, then you go and get him. He’s a top-class manager who learns from mistakes and gets better. If we sack Tuchel, who else do we have that’s as good? Maybe just Guardiola. The big thing is Tuchel doesn’t have World Cup experience. We saw the same with Capello. The World Cup is different, and now Tuchel has been through it.”
Two years ago, England almost agreed verbally with Guardiola, but he stayed on at Manchester City. Six months later, Tuchel was hired in January 2025 and might stay until after Euro 2028.
England came very close to making their first World Cup final in 60 years but fell apart in the last 10 minutes. Fans and players alike could see it coming except Tuchel. Defender Marc Guehi was confused about the coach’s decisions in the second half.
“We should have kept pushing,” Guehi said. “It felt like we scored and then the mentality was to go back and defend.”
When asked if he believes this team can finally win a trophy, Guehi was honest: “I don’t know. It’s hard to think about the future right now. At this moment, it’s just disappointment.”
It says a lot when even the players question the tactics, and now it’s up to Tuchel to bring the team’s confidence back.