Wayne Rooney names only alternative to Thomas Tuchel as England manager

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The Independent

17 July 2026

Wayne Rooney

believes

Thomas Tuchel

should remain as

England

manager unless the Football Association (FA) can bring in

Pep Guardiola

An inquest is under way after

spurned the chance to reach a second ever men’s

World Cup

final, with

their semi-final collapse against rivals Argentina

Tuchel’s position has been widely criticised for his decision-making

in Wednesday’s 2-1 loss as

retreated and lost in a manner that became all too familiar on the big occasions under Sir Gareth Southgate.

Former

captain

(PA Wire)

But the Press Association understands that Tuchel retains the backing of key figures at the FA, which handed the German coach a contract extension until 2028 in February.

captain Rooney believes Tuchel should be kept on unless ex-Manchester City boss Guardiola, somebody the governing body had spoken to previously, would come in.

“I don’t see anyone else out there at the minute, unless you go and get Pep Guardiola,” Rooney said on the

Show. “If Pep is available, then maybe you go and get him.

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

“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.

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

is different, and you need to feel that environment, and now he’s felt it.”

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