Soon to emulate Fabio Capello and the late Sven-Goran Eriksson as just the third foreign head coach of the England men's national team, Thomas Tuchel takes control of the Three Lions reins in 2025 once Lee Carsley's spell as interim boss comes to an end.
In the immediate aftermath of Gareth Southgate's post-Euro 2024 resignation, the FA decided to hire internally rather than externally, promoting the softly-spoken Carsley to the top job after he masterminded the Under-21s run to European Championship glory in 2023.
The 50-year-old oversaw a pair of 2-0 UEFA Nations League victories over Finland and the Republic of Ireland in his first two matches at the helm, fuelling speculation over whether he could be given the role on a permanent basis, but a shock 1-0 home loss to Greece saw support for such a move decrease significantly.
However, Carsley's men quickly restored order with a 3-1 triumph away to Finland, although Tuchel had already given the green light to becoming the next England boss by that point, thereby giving Carsley the unenviable task of keeping the German's appointment under wraps as he faced more questions about his future.
The ex-Ireland international will take charge of his final Three Lions matches against Greece and Ireland in November before stepping aside for Tuchel, and here, Sports Mole looks at who the ex-Chelsea boss could face in match number one.
Tuchel set to manage first England match in March
© Imago
With England on nine points, Greece on 12, Ireland on three and fourth-placed Finland on zero, the Three Lions cannot finish bottom of League B Group 2 - and thus suffer immediate relegation to League C - but all other possibilities are open.
Should the Three Lions maintain their current second-placed standing, they would qualify for next year's relegation/promotion playoffs, where they would take on one of four third-placed League A sides for the right to return to the top tier of the Nations League.
The draw for those two-legged ties will take place on November 22 once all group fixtures are concluded, before the playoffs take place on March 20 and March 23, with all second-placed League B sides hosting the first leg.
As things stand, the only League A sides that England cannot face in the playoffs are Spain and Tuchel's home nation Germany - both of whom have already guaranteed a top-two finish in their respective groups - but the likes of Portugal, Italy, France, Belgium, Croatia and the Netherlands are capable of placing third.
Poland, Belgium, Hungary and Serbia are currently occupying the four third-placed spots in League A, while Bosnia-Herzegovina, Switzerland, Israel and Scotland could also qualify for the playoffs.
Who could England face from Nations League Group C?
© Imago
Alternatively, if England lose both of their matches in November and Ireland win both of theirs - while also making up the 2-0 deficit from their first match with the Three Lions in September - Tuchel's first match could be in the League B/League C relegation/promotion playoffs.
In that scenario, England would face one of the runners-up from the third tier on March 20 and 23, playing away in the first leg before hosting the second, and there are currently 12 League C teams in playoff contention.
Slovakia, Kosovo, Belarus and Armenia are all sitting second in their respective League C groups, but Sweden, Romania, Northern Ireland, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, North Macedonia, Latvia and Faroe Islands can mathematically finish in the runners-up spot too.
However, if England manage to overtake Greece at the top of the League B Group 2 standings, they would be automatically promoted back to League A without the need for a two-legged playoff.
In that scenario, Tuchel's first game as head coach would come in World Cup 2026 qualifying in March, although no date has been set for the UEFA draw yet.
Ben Knapton
