The verbal deal that would have rewritten England’s last two years
Picture the alternative. As England line up against France in the third-place playoff at the 2026 World Cup, a detail from The Athletic reframes the whole Three Lions story: Pep Guardiola could have been the man on their bench since 2024. Not a name floated on some FA shortlist. A verbal agreement, given directly to the Football Association, that he was ready to take the job.
Try it for $0.99.
How close it came, and why it collapsed
Rewind to 2024. England were between managers, casting around, and Guardiola told the FA he was in. In broad strokes it was as good as settled. Then the Catalan pulled back. Manchester City, the club where he had spent close to a decade turning domestic and European football into a private parade, put a new contract in front of him, and that was that.
The FA had to tear up the plan overnight. They turned to Germany. Thomas Tuchel was between jobs, a coach who had lifted the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021 and lost the final a year before that with Paris. Proven under the lights, no question. Also, plainly, not the first name on the FA’s list.
[bet365_cta]
The backup plan reached the semis
Two years on, calling Tuchel a fallback looks harsh. He took England to the last four of this World Cup before they walked into an Argentina side that simply will not lie down when the stakes climb, a team that dug out the kind of comeback that defines their best nights. Painful for England. A long way from a failure for a squad that arrived believing it could win the lot.
Here is where it turns cruel. Guardiola, the coach who nearly had the job in 2024, is now a free man. He left Manchester City this summer after ten years and 20 trophies. The timing is so tidy it was always going to get people talking.
Why Tuchel is not actually in danger
The Athletic is quick to douse the flames. Semi-final heartbreak and a suddenly available Guardiola are not enough to cost Tuchel his job. His contract carried a clause that could have been pulled had this tournament gone wrong. Reaching the last four means it stays shut.
The numbers back him too. Tuchel has two years left on his FA deal, and sacking him now would cost the governing body a heavy sum. Talk of a fresh start, and of a run at Guardiola, stays exactly that for now.
A door left ajar
What the episode really adds is another shade to the one job Guardiola has never taken. He built his name at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City, all of it at club level. Yet this England near-miss shows international management has tempted him at least once. Whether that door ever opens at Wembley is a different question, and nothing about this week suggests it is about to.
Browse all our 2026 World Cup news on MathODDS
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
Leave a Reply