England boss Thomas Tuchel wants to 'earn right' to sing national anthem as 'one of our own' | OneFootball

German says he can only sing the anthem when the nation considers him to be ‘a proper English guy’

England head coach Thomas Tuchel says he wants to "earn the right" to sing the national anthem and be considered "a proper English guy" and will therefore remain silent ahead of his first games in charge - this month's World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia at Wembley.

His predecessor, interim head coach Lee Carsley, who represented the Republic of Ireland as a player, ruffled some feathers by revealing he would not sing the anthem but Tuchel says he wants to get to the point where he is considered "one of our own" by the players, supporters and English media.

Speaking after naming his first squad, the former Chelsea head coach revealed he had met Prince William at Windsor Castle since the taking the job. Asked if he had told the heir to the throne whether he would sing God Save the King, Tuchel said: "I did not tell him at this point, it did not come up.

Maybe I have to earn my right, so everyone feels like he should sing it now, he's one of our own

Thomas Tuchel

"But I made my decision. I think first of all, you have a very powerful, emotional and meaningful national anthem, and I could not be more proud to be on the sideline and be in charge of the English national team.

"It means everything. It means a lot to me, I can assure you.

"But I can feel because it is that meaningful and it is that emotional and it is so powerful the national anthem that I have to earn my right to sing it. I feel that it is not just a given. You cannot just sing it.

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"That's why I decided that I will not sing it in my first matches.

"I will earn it with results, with building a group, with doing my job properly and by creating a feeling where maybe even you guys [the media] say at some point, 'Now it's time that you sing it, it feels like you proper earn it and you're a proper English guy now'.

"Maybe I have to dive more into the culture and earn my right from you, from the players, from the supporters, so everyone feels like he should sing it now, he's one of our own, he's the English manager, he should sing it."

Asked if he knew the words, Tuchel added: "Yeah, it's not hard."