Wayne Rooney Backs Thomas Tuchel as England Coach Amid Pep Guardiola Speculation

Wayne Rooney believes the Football Association should keep faith with Thomas Tuchel as England head coach – unless a sensational move for Pep Guardiola suddenly becomes possible.

Tuchel remains in position after England’s 2-1 World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina on Wednesday, a night when a controlled 1-0 lead unravelled late on and his substitutions came under heavy fire. The German has made it clear he intends to stay on and lead the Three Lions into Euro 2028.

Rooney, speaking on The Wayne Rooney Show, accepts that plan. Up to a point.

Rooney: Tuchel or Pep – nobody else

"I don't see anyone else out there at the minute, unless you go and get Pep Guardiola. If Pep is available, then maybe you go and get him," the former England captain said, making the scale of his shortlist brutally clear.

Rooney underlined his respect for Tuchel’s work and for elite coaches in general.

"I think he is a top-class manager and what the top managers do, they learn from the mistakes and they improve and get better," he said.

The semi-final collapse has fuelled debate over Tuchel’s future, yet Rooney argued that the alternatives simply do not match up.

"If we sack him, what managers are we going to bring in? And I don't think there's anyone out there who's as good as Thomas Tuchel, unless Guardiola."

That “unless” hangs over the whole conversation. The FA previously approached Guardiola before appointing Tuchel, with reports of a verbal agreement having been in place with the former Manchester City manager. The idea has never fully left the public imagination.

World Cup lessons and a “strange” contract call

Rooney did, though, highlight what he sees as a key weakness in Tuchel’s profile at international level.

"But the big thing for me is he's not experienced at World Cups. We had the exact same with [Fabio] Capello."

"The World Cup is different and you need to feel that environment and now he's felt it."

Tuchel was initially brought in on an 18‑month mission in January 2025, tasked explicitly with winning the World Cup. In February this year, before a ball had been kicked in the tournament, he signed a two-year contract extension.

For Rooney, that timing jars with the FA’s own messaging.

"I think the FA told us that Thomas Tuchel was coming in to win the World Cup and take us to the next level."

"It's a little bit strange if its priority was to win the World Cup, but then you get a two-year contract before you actually go to the World Cup. That's a bit strange."

So Tuchel stays, bruised but backed, with Euro 2028 now his next examination. Unless, as Rooney suggests, the FA decide that one manager – and one manager only – is worth tearing up the plan for.