Next England manager: Our verdict on who should lead the Three Lions to 2026 World Cup

Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter or Pep Guardiola? Telegraph Sport writers on who they think should next be in charge of the national team

With the Football Association seemingly no nearer to working out who will replace Gareth Southgate long term, Telegraph Sport asks its team of football writers who they think should pick up the baton, and whether they think it would be fine if that person was not English.
With World Cup qualifying not far away, it is a question the powers that be need to answer themselves quickly…
Having advocated a move for Jurgen Klopp in the aftermath of Southgate’s exit, I still believe this is the FA’s “moonshot” moment, where they need to show supreme ambition in pursuing a manager who can unlock the potential of a prime England crop. The outstanding candidate, by a distance, is Pep Guardiola, a figure of such vision and genius that he has been described recently as the Gaudí of his craft.
The importance of the homegrown factor can be overplayed. The last English manager to win a trophy of any consequence was Harry Redknapp, with the 2008 FA Cup. Since then, Guardiola has amassed 35. It will take an almighty heave to seduce a man earning £20 million a year, but the intriguing combination of circumstances, with Guardiola’s imminent contract expiry at Manchester City and his interest in an international management role beyond his native Spain, makes this a chance too precious to spurn.
Graham Potter: he is readily available, would not need compensation to be paid and should be within the FA’s salary scale. Potter’s teams play good football and he is a progressive coach. He may struggle with the spotlight but will have learnt from his Chelsea experience. The 49-year-old did not do well at Chelsea, and that will be used against him, but his track record is otherwise impressive and he deserves a chance. One setback should not define anyone, and he may benefit from it.
I am of the firm belief that international football is about pitting your best against their best. It is embarrassing for a major nation such as England not to be able to find an English coach to do the job. It also is an indictment of the coaching pathway and the work of St George’s Park. Of course Guardiola would be a dream candidate but he is Catalan. Getting him would be amazing and would be a huge boost to England, but it would also be an admission of failure.
While the appointment of Guardiola would tick every conceivable box it is probably mission impossible so, in a dwindling field of choices, I would opt for Potter. He is a highly respected coach who implements a clear identity on his teams, and that is what England desperately need.
Guardiola would be the dream choice, but I think it would be an admission of failure by the FA, which seems so clearly tied to coaching pathways and promoting from within – hence why the growing uncertainty around Lee Carsley (so obviously their preferred choice to succeed Southgate) feels like such a nightmare for the governing body. Foreign managers are not the issue – this is 2024, thankfully – but it is more the idea of the FA turning their backs on their own model.
Someone like Carlo Ancelotti would be nice but it is hard to see him leaving Real Madrid, so how about the current Fenerbahçe coach Jose Mourinho? Arguably the ultimate tournament manager, you would back him to get the right players in the right positions in the right system and not shirk the big calls, and because the meets are less frequent there would hopefully be less of the daily or weekly histrionics. A proven winner, too.
In an ideal world he would be English but where is that person? If the best man for the job means appointing a foreign manager, then so be it. I really could not care less so long as the country actually finally wins something after the utter embarrassment of 58 years without a trophy.
In an ideal world it would be Guardiola. He is the dream for practically everybody with any sort of interest in the England team. If he proves to be unattainable or too expensive, then Thomas Tuchel has already proved himself to be one of the best tournament managers at club level.
England have a foreign manager in Sarina Wiegman with the women’s team, so that genie is already out of the bottle. It cannot be one rule for the men and another for the women.
The ideal candidate has FA experience, a track record of forming good relationships with England’s star players, and is often seen demonstrating the necessary passion at a stadium of one of the Premier League and Champions League’s in-form clubs. Step forward William, Prince of Wales. He will always belt out the national anthem, too. Alternatively, try for Eddie Howe, but he might be more expensive and unavailable.
How about asking Rob Key, the England cricket chief, if nationality matters? The sight of Brendon McCullum’s side smashing 800 runs in two days in Pakistan ought to be informative that it is wiser to go for the best person for the job, not the most English, especially given the shortage of outstanding (or available) candidates.
Howe: like Southgate, he has the calm, unflustered ambassadorial demeanour needed for the job. He is also a smart, innovative and tactically astute coach. The perfect fit. Except Newcastle are unlikely to let him leave without a fight, so the FA has no hope of winning.
The precedent was set with Sven-Göran Eriksson, then continued with Fabio Capello. And Wiegman has bettered both while running the England women’s side. The FA should simply get the best manager available, whatever nationality they may be.
Potter is not the most sexy name in management but he is thoughtful, reasonable and capable of maintaining the cultural improvements that were made under Southgate. In theory, Potter could be a Southgate 2.0, of sorts – he has many of the same strengths but, hopefully, with an extra layer of tactical nous that could get England over the line at big moments.
No country should be allowed to hire a foreign manager, just as they are not allowed to field foreign players. International football should be about the best of one nation taking on the best of another. For a country of England’s football heritage and prestige, the mere thought of employing a foreign manager should be a source of embarrassment.
England should be looking to get the best man for the job and Guardiola is the best manager in the world. Reach for the stars, do not just make do. If they receive any sort of encouragement from the Spaniard that he is willing to take the job in the summer, they should wait for him. England have not won a major tournament since 1966, it is time to be bold. Guardiola knows English football inside and out and has said he would like to go into international football at some point.
I think the FA’s stance on this is very sensible and given Wiegman, the Euros-winning manager of the women’s team, is Dutch, it shows the benefits of not restricting yourself to domestic candidates. The key ingredient of the Premier League’s success is international skills brought into an English football culture, so why not try to do the same with the national team?