Shortly after Ruben Amorim was handed his marching orders at Manchester United, Paul Scholes made it clear he wanted Thomas Tuchel to succeed him. Hindsight shows that would have been the completely wrong call.
Manchester United sacked Ruben Amorim in January before Michael Carrick stepped in as head coach on an interim basis.
Over the course of five months, Carrick helped turn United’s season around, with the team finishing third in the Premier League and securing Champions League qualification. None of this looked achievable leading up to Amorim’s exit, which is why the former United midfielder got the job permanently this summer.
Paul Scholes was among the first to name his preferred candidate for the United job: none other than England head coach Thomas Tuchel.
Let us hear your thoughts on Thomas Tuchel’s treatment of Kobbie Mainoo
2026 World Cup proved why Thomas Tuchel is not the right man for Man Utd
Scholes wasn’t the only one calling for Tuchel in January.
It’s not difficult to see why Tuchel was a popular shout amongst some fans, having won domestic titles in France and Germany as well as the Champions League with Chelsea.
However, appointing Tuchel would have meant waiting until after the World Cup for the new head coach to begin work. That would have been far from ideal for United ahead of the 2026/27 campaign.
That didn’t stop Scholes from expressing his view that Tuchel would get the best out of United’s players.
“Number one for me, which I’d do in the summer, is Thomas Tuchel, all day long,” Scholes told The Good, The Bag & The Football.
“I think Tuchel would bring the very best out of them.
“His contract with England is only to the summer.
“I think he can be a bit temperamental and he can be difficult to handle, but he’s done it at big clubs.
“He’s turned England around as well… England do look a lot better under him.”
While Tuchel has since extended his deal as England head coach until after the European Championships in 2028, some of the decisions he made at the 2026 World Cup prove that Scholes was wrong with his assessment.
But, for starters, Tuchel didn’t get the very best out of that England team.
England had an easy route to the semi-finals, but Tuchel’s questionable substitutions against Argentina were the biggest red flag of all.
England’s results at the 2026 World Cup:
- England 4-2 Croatia – Group L
- England 0-0 Ghana – Group L
- Panama 0-2 England – Group L
- England 2-1 DR Congo – Round of 32
- Mexico 2-3 England – Round of 16
- Norway 1-2 England – Quarter-finals
- England 1-2 Argentina – Semi-finals
This is a coach who was appointed at great expense for his tactical acumen, but those tactics were cowardly on Wednesday night as Argentina forced a late comeback to book their place in the final.
England dealt with Argentina well until Tuchel decided to go to five at the back after the second-half hydration break. Lionel Messi was doing nothing noteworthy at this point, utterly nullified, but the changes came as an open invitation for the world champions to attack.
Furthermore, England’s midfield escaped criticism throughout the tournament. Even against lesser teams, none of the players looked comfortable on the ball and treated it like hot lava. If only Tuchel brought Kobbie Mainoo, right?
Yet Mainoo was part of England’s squad; he didn’t get a single minute on the pitch (subject to change with the third-place playoff against France taking place on Saturday). That suggests we could have had another Amorim-esque scenario if Tuchel were appointed at United.
Also, let’s be honest: Argentina don’t get free headers in the box if Harry Maguire is in the team. Instead, Tuchel chose Dan Burn – a bargain-basement Maguire.
England had all the momentum against Argentina until Tuchel bottled it. And, on top of that, there’s very little reason to believe he would be a success at Old Trafford.
There are big questions over whether England is better off after replacing Gareth Southgate with Tuchel, as Scholes suggested.
I’m happy and relieved we’ve got Carrick in the dugout.
Man Utd are the SIXTH best club team in the world right now according to the Opta Power Rankings – How accurate do you feel this is?
We dropped to 45th under Ruben Amorim 😳
Wayne Rooney slams Thomas Tuchel’s substitutions in Argentina World Cup defeat
Former United striker Wayne Rooney was working as a pundit for the match.
The former England captain argued that the players will have lost belief at Tuchel’s second-half substitutions against Argentina.
Those changes backfired as England sat back before Enzo Fernandez equalised in the 85th minute and Lautaro Martinez stuck the winner two minutes into stoppage time.
“If you’re an attacking player on that pitch and you go 1-0 up and you see the changes which the manager’s making, you’re losing belief, there’s only so many times you can get away with it,” Rooney told BBC Sport.
“Then you start thinking: ‘Oh no, we’re going to sit back for this long, how are we going to get through this?'”
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