New England manager Thomas Tuchel's record in knockout football

Thomas Tuchel: England manager. Signed, sealed and delivered.

The third foreigner and first German to take charge of the Three Lions has been officially unveiled by the FA as Gareth Southgate’s successor, with Tuchel assuming his post at the start of 2025.

The former Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager has the sole task of delivering England their first World Cup since 1966 and, while the pressure will be immense, the FA have stumbled upon the ideal candidate to finally bring football home.

Blessed with supreme tactical acumen and the ability to adjust his principles on a game-by-game basis to nullify opponents, Tuchel has garnered the reputation of being a knockout football specialist. His list of honours attests to that.

If you’re one of the few who are perhaps a bit sceptical over Tuchel’s appointment, the below data might help shift your opinion. Here’s an overview of the new England manager’s record in knockout matches.

Tuchel may have no experience of international management, but he’s coached in multiple high-pressure environments in which winning is the only form of appeasement.

His record in knockout games is stellar, with the German winning over 70% of such matches. A 50% win rate in Champions League knockout stage encounters is his lowest of all the competitions he’s managed in, but that figure is certainly respectable given the level of opposition. Tuchel has won 15 of 30 UCL KO stage matches and guided two teams to the final, lifting the trophy once with Chelsea in 2021 off the back of stout defensive foundations.

Tuchel’s PSG were beaten by an all-conquering Bayern Munich in the 2020 final, while Real Madrid’s voodoo magic prevented the German from reaching a third Champions League final in 2023. His Chelsea team, as holders, were on the brink of defeating Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu to advance into the semi-finals having overturned a 3-1 first-leg deficit, but a Luka Modric trivela inspired an impressive Madrid fightback. Still, that victory in the Spanish capital further depicted Tuchel’s ability in one-off matches.

He’s overseen just one Europa League campaign – back in 2015/16 with Borussia Dortmund – which boasted plenty of promise before his side succumbed at Anfield in the last eight.

Domestically, Tuchel has achieved immense success in cup competitions, but he hasn’t always gotten his team over the line. The German guided Chelsea to two FA Cup finals, both of which they lost, the Carabao Cup final, which they lost to Liverpool on penalties, Borussia Dortmund to two DFB-Pokal finals, winning the club’s first trophy post-Jurgen Klopp, and PSG to a pair of Coupe de France finals, losing one to Rennes on penalties.

Still, his win rates in the aforementioned competitions as well as the Coupe de la Ligue are all over 73%.

While Tuchel seems to boast a very good chance of progressing deep into any given cup competition, it’s a toss-up over whether he’ll get his team over the line, especially if the bout goes to penalties. Excluding super cups and all the domestic equivalents, Tuchel has managed in 11 major finals and won five of them. Half of his six defeats were delivered via penalty shootouts, including two in England.

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