Thomas Tuchel Has A Way To Respect British National Anthem

Thomas Tuchel (right) will respect in his own way the British national anthem (Instagram/@england).

JAKARTA - The UK National Team (Timnas) coach, Thomas Tuchel, said he had to "get the right" to sing the God Save the King national anthem after announcing his squad consisting of 26 players on Friday, March 14, 2025, ahead of the 2026 World Cup Qualification.

Tuchel, who was appointed to replace Gareth Southgate in October 2024 and appointed his first squad to face Albania and Latvia this month, briefly said he would not sing the national anthem in his first game as coach.

However, now he changed his mind. He wanted to sing or rather honor the British national anthem in his own way.

"This means a lot to me. I can assure you, I can feel it because the national anthem is very meaningful and very emotional and very strong."

"So, I have to get my right to sing it," the German coach said at a press conference.

Tuchel "was demanded" to sing the British national anthem after the controversy that befell the interim coach of the Three Lions, Lee Carsley.

Carsley was strongly criticized last year for not singing the English national anthem during his tenure.

Because of that, Tuchel needs to make sure that he can still respect in other ways even though he doesn't sing literally.

He is proud to lead the team and knows the lyrics of the national anthem and plans to get that right through results.

"Maybe I should explore culture more and get my rights from you, from the players, the supporters, so everyone feels like 'he has to sing it now, he's one of us, he's a England manager, he has to sing it up'," said the 51-year-old coach.

Three Lions will host Albania and Latvia at Wembley Stadium on March 22 and 25, 2025 to start their journey in the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers in the European Zone.