Gareth Southgate stepped down as England manager last Summer after losing the Euro 2024 final. While Southgate got England to back-to-back Euro finals, his style of play was questioned by many. Despite an incredibly talented roster, England were quite content to sit back and not take the game to their opponents. Now, with a different approach, can England be successful under Thomas Tuchel?
With a talented group of players, and new manager, England fans are expecting their first major trophy since 1966 soon. This is Tuchel’s first stab at the international game but he’s a proven winner. He led Chelsea to a Champions League victory in 2021 and has won league titles with PSG and Bayern Munich.
We’ll check out some England/Tuchel Specials on the odds board and discuss the direction of the Three Lions going forward.
His first matches as England’s boss went well as England won both matches in March World Cup qualifiers while keeping clean sheets in each. That said, let’s take a look at some special futures bets.
Will Jude Bellingham Captain England This Year?
Jude Bellingham is one of the best midfielders in the world. Thomas Tuchel is also a known admirer of Bellingham and he should play a huge role for the Three Lions going forward.
However, Bellingham is only 21 years old and may have a ways to go before becoming England’s captain even though he was in Southgate’s leadership group. Harry Kane is England’s current captain and has been since 2018. Ajax midfielder Jordan Henderson used to serve as England’s captain before Kane.
Henderson has just been recalled to the National team by Tuchel, presumably for leadership purposes. Plus, Marcus Rashford, Declan Rice and Kyle Walker were all in Tuchel’s March squad and have captained the team on at least one occasion.
With more games against teams like Andorra and Latvia coming up this year, Tuchel could reconfigure his squads. So, that does give Bellingham a slight opportunity to captain the team this year.
Bettors can take both a “Yes” and “No” bet on Bellingham to captain England in 2025 at -120. We’d lean towards no but it is somewhat of a tossup either way.
Tuchel to Last Until the End of the Year?
It’s hard to see a scenario in which Thomas Tuchel leaves the England job in 2025. The Three Lions have a favorable World Cup qualifying group, which includes Serbia, Albania, Latvia and Andorra. They are already 2-0 but there are potential pitfalls against Serbia and Albania.
If they don’t manage to top the group, they’re pretty much guaranteed a play-off spot. That gives Tuchel a chance to redeem himself next year.
So, even though +1000 odds on Tuchel to leave his post this season might seem decent, we wouldn’t take them. Barring catastrophe, expect Tuchel to be England’s manager heading into 2026.
Tuchel’s England to Win the 2026 World Cup?
It would be some story if England manage to win the World Cup in Thomas Tuchel’s first major international tournament.
They have gotten very close to tasting glory, at Euro 2020 and Euro 2024, which are arguably just as difficult to win as the World Cup.
So, the potential for England to make a deep run is clearly there. They will have one of the most balanced teams in the entire tournament.
Tuchel is experimenting with his defense based on his first call ups. Tuchel started Dan Burn at center back in the 2-0 win over Albania and went with Marc Guehi in the 3-0 win over Latvia.
He also made a risky call to start 18 year old left back Myles Lewis-Skelly in both March qualifiers and MLS repaid Tuchel’s faith in him with a debut goal. In any case, Tuchel has over a year to iron things out and England have no dearth of good defenders.
In what’s likely Harry Kane’s last World Cup, England show +600 odds to win for the first time in 60 years.
Tuchel and England to Win the 2026-27 UEFA Nations League?
This could be England’s best chance to win a trophy in the next few years. Few would consider it a major trophy but England fans would undoubtedly be happy with some silverware after a very long drought.
Some coaches, and players, treat the Nations League like little more than glorified friendlies. So, if the World Cup doesn’t go according to planned, perhaps the Nations League will be a way for Tuchel to save his job.
However, the last time England were in Nations League A they ended up getting relegated. In any case, England’s odds to win the 2026-27 UEFA Nations League with Tuchel as manager are at +500.
Tuchel and England to Win Euro 2028?
It is incredibly difficult to look three years down the line and predict the England starting XI, let alone if they can win Euro 2028. Bellingham could very well be England’s captain by this point.
Meanwhile, Bukayo Saka, Cole Palmer, Declan Rice, Anthony Gordon and Phil Foden should all be in their primes. It could also be Harry Kane’s last major tournament, if he doesn’t retire from international play before 2028.
Spain, who won Euro 2024, should still be excellent in a few years’ time along with France. So, it’s never going to be easy to make a deep run in the Euros. However, England have made the final twice in a row, the tournament is being hosted by the UK and Ireland and the final is likely to be at Wembley.
Still, England lost in penalties to Italy at Wembley in the Euro 2020 Final. If Tuchel is willing to use more dynamic players like Gordon and Morgan Rogers, England could potentially get over the hump.
Notably, the odds refer to England winning Euro 2028 with Thomas Tuchel as manager. He hasn’t lasted more than three years in any job since coaching Mainz from 2009 to 2014. So, even though you would expect them to perform well, we’d stay away from taking England to win Euro 2028 with Tuchel as manager, at +500 odds.
Plus, bettors can also consider England to win the 2026 World Cup or Euro 2028 under Tuchel, at +300.
Will Tuchel’s England Win the World Cup and Euro 2028?
It would be absolutely bonkers for England to go from trophyless to 60 years to winning consecutive major tournaments.
Three Lions fans may want to keep dreaming, though, as only West Germany (1972 World Cup, Euro 1974), France (1998 World Cup, Euro 2000) and Spain (Euro 2008, 2010 World Cup, Euro 2012) have held both the World Cup and Euros at the same time.
Still, Spain went from winning no trophies in 44 years to completely dominating the international game. So yes, it’s possible that England pull off the unthinkable but let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves here.
Best Futures Bet
To be clear, none of these bets are great from a value standpoint. However, England may have to start small to build a winning culture and the Nations League is a great place to do that. So, our Top Soccer Bet is England to win the 2026-27 UEFA Nations League with Tuchel at the helm at +500.
I think the England FA made a bold and necessary call to appoint a foreign manager. They certainly have a chance to be successful under Tuchel.
