The Football Association has been told exactly how to sack Thomas Tuchel as England manager, with contract clauses emerging following the national team's World Cup semi-final exit. Any decision to dismiss the German coach would reportedly cost millions of pounds due to a recently signed contract extension.
Defeat to Argentina Sparks Criticism
Tuchel has been widely blamed for England's heartbreaking defeat to Argentina, where a defensive shift after Anthony Gordon's opener allowed the opposition to launch repeated attacks. Rather than pushing for an insurance goal, England sat back and invited pressure, a strategy that ultimately backfired. Argentina equalised in the 85th minute through Enzo Fernandez and completed the comeback when Lautaro Martinez headed home in the second minute of stoppage time.
The crushing nature of the collapse has ramped up pressure on the 52-year-old, with calls for him to be shown the door. However, Tuchel recently signed a contract extension through until Euro 2028, making a sacking expensive.
Contract Clauses Expire
According to The Athletic, there were clauses in place that would have allowed the FA to rip up Tuchel's contract if England had been knocked out before the quarter-finals. However, those clauses have now expired, meaning a full payout would be required to axe the German manager following the defeat to Argentina.
Tuchel is reportedly being paid around £5 million per year by the FA under the terms of his current deal. As a result, it would cost double that amount—approximately £10 million—to relieve him of his duties.
Tuchel Vows to Continue
Despite the criticism, Tuchel indicated he will stay on to see out the remainder of his contract. Speaking after the final whistle against Argentina, he said: "We keep on going with the contract until the home Euros. I'm looking forward to that even though right now it's difficult to look that far ahead."
Reflecting on the submissive nature of England's collapse, Tuchel remarked: "In this moment my feeling was no structure in the world could have helped us. Because actually we were too passive and we were not physical enough, we didn't stop runners arriving in our box and the deliveries were wrong too."
He added: "I haven't seen the data yet, but I think just right after the goal the momentum swings completely and ball possession drops dramatically. We couldn't find any duels anymore, that's why we dropped deeper and deeper. It was never the plan, but it happened."
Tuchel also commented on England's style: "It's maybe not in our DNA, like it is in our Spanish DNA or in our Argentinian or Brazilian DNA, to take the ball and control the game with the ball."
