Prince William meets new England manager Thomas Tuchel ahead of crunch qualifiers

Prince William, who is Patron of the Football Association, welcomed new England manager Thomas Tuchel to Windsor Castle today ahead of his first matches in charge of the Three Lions

Prince William met new England manager Thomas Tuchel for the first time today ahead of his first matches in charge of the Three Lions.

Tuchel officially took charge of England at the start of the year after Sir Gareth Southgate stepped down after the Euros in the summer, with his first match coming next month against Albania. This afternoon, William, who is Patron of the Football Association, welcomed Tuchel to WIndsor Castle as well as Mark Bullingham, the CEO of the FA.

A snap posted to social media showed William and the new England boss shaking hands. It was captioned: “Great to meet new @England men’s manager Thomas Tuchel for the first time today, and hear about plans for the team” and included a strong arm emoji.

It is believed their meeting lasted over an hour with new manager sharing his views on the team and his hopes for the future with the prince. A royal source said they also discussed the ongoing success of Aston Villa in their Champions League campaign.

William previously backed Tuchel as the Three Lions’ new boss after his appointment telling him: “We’re all behind you!” In a personal message posted by Kensington Palace’s social media, the prince wrote: “Exciting times for @England, with a generation of talented players and a new manager taking the reins. “Thomas, wishing you the best of luck, we’re all behind you! W.”

Tuchel, who is German, has been tasked with leading England to World Cup glory in the 2026 tournament. The Three Lions will face Albania, Latvia, Andorra and Serbia in the qualifiers. However, he is expecting a tough qualification campaign, with Albania first up at Wembley on March 21. Tuchel has insisted that reaching the World Cup will not be easy despite the lack of another top level side in their group.

“It’s a difficult group,” said former Chelsea boss Tuchel. “Serbia and Albania have some good individual players, top coaches and some very famous ex-players, so it will be very tough. We’ll have to be very respectful of that. “We have to be at our top level to make it to the World Cup – it’s the most important task at the moment to not get distracted. We also don’t want to get distracted by the role of favourites.”

Tuchel’s visit to Windsor Castle comes after the Prince of Wales sent a highly personal message to his predecessor Sir Gareth Southgate, who quit as England manager last July – just days after his side lost the Euro 2024 final to Spain.

Taking to social media minutes after the news was announced, William said: “Gareth, I want to thank you – not as the President of the @FA, but as an @England fan. Thank you for creating a team that stands shoulder to shoulder with the world’s finest in 2024.”Thank you for showing humility, compassion, and true leadership under the most intense pressure and scrutiny.

“And thank you for being an all-round class act. You should be incredibly proud of what you’ve achieved. W.” The Prince of Wales also shared a sweet photo of himself sharing a joke with Southgate during a previous visit to the England training ground.

Southgate announced he was standing down as England manager, saying it is time for a “new chapter” for the national team. “As a proud Englishman, it has been the honour of my life to play for England and to manage England. It has meant everything to me and I have given it my all,” he said in a statement.