Wayne Rooney Backs Thomas Tuchel Amid FA Dilemma

Wayne Rooney believes the Football Association should stay the course with Thomas Tuchel – unless the game’s most coveted coach suddenly walks through the door.

For the former England captain, there is only one man worth tearing up the current plan for: Pep Guardiola.

Tuchel remains in position after England’s 2-1 World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina on Wednesday, a night when a 1-0 lead slipped away late and his substitutions came under heavy fire. The German has made it clear he wants to continue, targeting Euro 2028 with the same group he took to the brink of a first World Cup final since 1966.

Rooney, speaking on The Wayne Rooney Show, backed that idea. But only up to a point.

"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," he said, laying out the dilemma facing the FA in blunt terms.

For Rooney, Tuchel remains in the elite bracket.

"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.

"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."

The tension at the heart of this England project is clear. Tuchel was hired in January 2025 on an 18-month deal, handed a specific mission: win the World Cup. That brief was underlined when he signed a two-year contract extension in February, months before a ball was kicked in the tournament.

The FA had already explored the Guardiola dream before turning to Tuchel, with reports of a verbal agreement at one stage. It never materialised. Tuchel arrived instead, with a reputation forged in the Champions League, not in international football’s most unforgiving arena.

Rooney zeroed in on that lack of World Cup experience.

"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."

That, in Rooney’s eyes, is where the FA’s gamble now changes shape. Tuchel has taken the hit. He has lived the unique pressure, the compressed preparation time, the tactical chess played over weeks rather than months. England fell short, but the manager has scars and reference points he did not possess a year ago.

Even so, Rooney questioned the timing and logic behind the extension.

"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."

The FA, for now, has chosen stability. Tuchel stays. The semi-final defeat, painful as it was, has not triggered a reset.

Rooney’s message cuts through that calm. Stick with Tuchel, let him learn, let him grow with this England side – unless the phone rings and the man who reshaped Manchester City suddenly becomes an option. Then, in his view, there is no debate.