With England knocked out of the World Cup, the talk of head coach Gareth Southgate losing his job has sparked a dispute on whether a foreign coach could take the reins.
The World Cup often brings with it several managerial changes with coaches stepping down once their team has been eliminated.
Roberto Martinez of Belgium, Luis Enrique of Spain and Louis van Gaal of Netherlands have all stepped down following their exits in Qatar.
Now after France sent England crashing out, several questions over Southgate’s role have been raised.
The debate quickly turned into who should take over in the England setup, with the likes of Thomas Tuchel and Mauricio Pochettino coming to the fore as possible replacements.
However, neither of those unemployed managers are English, sparking a debate on whether a foreign boss can once again take over.
Former England defender Jamie Carragher tweeted that the England head coach “should always be English”.
The England national team is no stranger to foreign management, with Italian Fabio Capello and Swede Sven-Goran Eriksson formerly taking charge.
African sides are often led by foreign bosses, Bafana Bafana currently being managed by Belgian Hugo Broos.
A major part of being the national team-coach is understanding the culture and heritage of that nation, knowing what it means to be a part of the national team and to represent an entire nation.
These are elements a foreign boss could lack.
However, while being from the same country has its benefits, teams such as England have expectations and the coach in charge should be the best to achieve those goals, regardless of where they were born.
If England decides Tuchel is the best coach to take the team forward, the fact that he is German should have no role to play in the decision making.
Going with an English coach seems to be the safest option for the Three Lions with Steven Gerard being tipped to take over should Southgate leave his role.
Pictured above: Gareth Southate
Image source: The Athletic
