When Thomas Tuchel was announced as England manager back in October 2024, I was against it. The manager is part of an international squad and, like the players, should be eligible to represent that nation. And the second point is the precedent – no foreign manager has ever won the World Cup and only one has lifted the European Championship. This is England’s football team, perennial underachievers for 60 years – not the nation that should be looking to buck that trend.

Yes, the depth of quality to follow Gareth Southgate, the most successful England manager since Sir Alf Ramsay, was shallow when looking close to home, but after the failures of Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello, the appointment of Tuchel looked like a return to the bad days.

But when England headed to the United States for the World Cup and Tuchel built his squad for the tournament, I changed. Now was the time to back him. And while others pointed out the madness of not selecting Trent Alexander-Arnold, and instead picked the likes of Jordan Henderson and Dan Burn, I defended him.

Tuchel had selected a squad, not individuals. These were players to lead by example, who would be happy to be a bit part of something, rather than sulking on the bench. Tuchel’s 26 was not England’s best players, but a blend of personalities Tuchel believed would be strong enough to have a chance of winning the tournament on a foreign continent, a long period away from home. It was bold and it was welcome.

As the tournament progressed and the squad’s flaws at right-back, for example, became apparent – who knew Reece James would pick up yet another injury apart from everyone – I stuck by Tuchel. His team selections were sound. It revolved around getting Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham the chances they would undoubtedly take.

Performances weren’t flawless, but as the likes of Germany and Brazil crashed, we continued with glimpses of brilliance and incredible resilience, as shown in the dogged win at the Azteca against Mexico. And while victory over Norway was far from plain sailing, we were through. Tuchel saw us over the line.

The attack on the players that led ITV’s Gabriel Clarke to go skipping over to Bellingham to get him riled – great television but read the room Gabriel – was seen by many as a bad move by Tuchel. Not me, the players needed hunger, fight and fury to go all the way – say it like it is, Tommy.