Pep Guardiola's Near-Miss with England: FA Backs Tuchel After World Cup Exit

Pep Guardiola once shook hands on the England job. Not on paper, but in principle. A verbal agreement, ready to succeed Gareth Southgate — until Manchester City persuaded him to stay put a little longer.

That sliding-door moment now hangs over St George’s Park.

England’s World Cup semi-final collapse against Argentina has turned the spotlight brutally onto Thomas Tuchel. His side led, then folded late. The inquest has been fierce, with his tactics and game management torn apart in studios and living rooms alike.

And so the name inevitably resurfaces. Guardiola. Free of City. Free of any club. The ultimate “what if” suddenly looks like a very real “what next” for many supporters.

The deal that never was

The FA’s interest in Guardiola has never been a secret. According to The Athletic, the courtship went much further than polite conversations. The Catalan had, in effect, agreed to take the England job after Southgate, only to reverse course and sign on again at the Etihad.

That decision forced the FA to pivot. Tuchel became the man, appointed in January 2025 and handed the keys to a squad that had grown used to tournament pressure and expectation under Southgate.

Now, with Guardiola out of work, the old file has been pulled mentally from the drawer. The logic is obvious: one of the greatest club coaches of all time, available, with a prior understanding in place and a long-standing admiration for English football. Those close to the situation suggest he would presumably still be open to the role, given he had once agreed to it.

But timing is everything in football. And this time, the timing is off.

Contract clauses and cold reality

The fury after the Argentina defeat has been loud, but the framework around Tuchel is clear. His contract included exit clauses that could have allowed either side to walk away after this World Cup — but only under specific conditions.

• England had to fall before the quarter-finals.

They didn’t. Tuchel guided them into the last eight and then beyond, steering England to the last four of a World Cup for just the fourth time in their history. Emotionally, the semi-final collapse stings. Structurally, it protects him.

There was even a further tweak to those clauses. When it became clear England were likely to face Mexico at the Estadio Azteca in the last 16, an exemption was added. The FA accepted the unique challenge of that tie; Tuchel’s side edged it 3-2 in a wild, breathless contest. With that win, another potential trapdoor effectively vanished.

So when England walked off the pitch on Wednesday, beaten and broken by Argentina’s late comeback, Tuchel’s position was bruised but not breached. The FA moved quickly to reaffirm their commitment to him after the defeat, signalling no appetite for a knee-jerk change.

Long-term bet on Tuchel

This is not a short-term marriage. Earlier this year, the FA doubled down on Tuchel, handing him a contract extension that stretches through Euro 2028. They see him not as a stopgap, but as the architect of the next cycle.

He has responded in kind. Tuchel has shown no sign of restlessness, no desire to jump back into the club-game carousel. When Manchester United came calling in January, checking his availability after sacking Ruben Amorim, he turned them away. International football, and this England project specifically, is the job he chose to keep.

So the FA stands at an awkward crossroads: a manager under fire but under contract, and the ghost of Guardiola hovering just beyond the touchline.

Guardiola remains unattached. England remain attached to Tuchel. One agreement was verbal and never signed. The other is written, extended, and, for now, unshakable.

The World Cup has reopened the debate. It has not reopened the position.