Thomas Tuchel (52) has made a promise: Should England advance to the final of the World Cup on July 19, the German national coach of the Three Lions will indeed sing along to the English anthem "God Save The King". The 52-year-old announced this according to the British newspaper "The Sun", shortly before traveling to Dallas with his 26-man squad.
During previous international matches, Tuchel had consistently remained silent during the anthem. When asked whether he would change that before the World Cup opener against Croatia in the approximately 80,000-capacity AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, he initially declined. "Not yet. I don't think we're quite there yet", Tuchel said according to "The Sun". "Maybe at the very end. I'm still a bit shy. I don't want to offend anyone and don't want to draw focus to that right now." He already knows the lyrics of the anthem anyway: "It's not that difficult", he joked.
Why he has remained silent so far
Tuchel had already explained the reason for his restraint in March 2025. During his first squad announcement as England coach - at that time for the World Cup qualifying matches against Albania and Latvia - he was asked whether he would sing the anthem. His answer according to "Bild": "I think it's not simply a matter of course. You can't just sing it. That's why I decided that I won't sing it during my first matches."
The former Bayern coach emphasized: "It [the anthem, editor's note] means a great deal to me, I can assure you of that, but I feel that I must first earn the right to sing it, because it is so meaningful, emotional and powerful." First, he needs to immerse himself more deeply in English culture and earn this step through good performances - to the point "where everyone thinks: 'He should sing it now, he's one of us, he's the English manager, he should sing it.'"
Rare gesture among foreign coaches
Tuchel is not alone in his silence. According to "The Sun", the only foreign England coach who ever sang along to the anthem was Swede Sven-Göran Eriksson - although he reportedly struggled with the lyrics. Italian Fabio Capello remained silent at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, before England was eliminated in the round of 16 with a 1-4 loss to Germany. At the current tournament, Englishman Graham Potter sings along to the Swedish anthem as Sweden's coach, while Argentine USA coach Mauricio Pochettino remains silent during the "Star-Spangled Banner".
