Wayne Rooney believes the Football Association should continue supporting Thomas Tuchel as England head coach unless a potential opportunity to recruit Pep Guardiola arises.

Tuchel has retained the backing of the FA following England’s 2-1 defeat to Argentina in Wednesday’s World Cup semi-final.

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Despite facing criticism for his late-game substitutions that allowed England to lose a 1-0 lead, Tuchel has stated his desire to continue coaching the Three Lions into Euro 2028.

Rooney expressed his support for Tuchel to stay as head coach after the World Cup disappointment, but suggested that the FA should pursue former Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola if he is available. “I don’t see anyone else out there at the minute, unless you go and get Pep Guardiola. If Pep Guardiola is available, then maybe you go and get him,” Rooney said on The Wayne Rooney Show.

“I think he is a top-class manager and what the top managers do, they learn from the mistakes and they improve and get better.

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“If we sack him, what managers are we going to bring in? And I don’t think there’s anyone out there who’s as good as Thomas Tuchel, unless Guardiola.”

“But the big thing for me is he’s not experienced at World Cups. We had the exact same with [Fabio] Capello.”

“The World Cup is different and you need to feel that environment and now he’s felt it.”

Tuchel signed a two-year contract extension in February, having been appointed in January 2025 on an 18-month mission to win the World Cup.

Rooney shared his thoughts on the decision to grant Tuchel a new contract, stating, “I think the FA told us that Thomas Tuchel was coming in to win the World Cup and take us to the next level.

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“It’s a little bit strange if its priority was to win the World Cup, but then you get a two-year contract before you actually go to the World Cup. That’s a bit strange.”

Tuchel ‘made mistakes’ with squad selection

Leaving out players like Trent Alexander-Arnold, Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Morgan Gibbs-White, and Adam Wharton from the 26-man England squad drew significant attention.

Rooney believes that including players who are merely “happy around the camp” hindered England’s chances. “I think he’s made mistakes with the squad selection,” Rooney expressed.

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“You can’t expect to win a World Cup and have a squad that is just happy and happy around the camp.

“You need debate, you need players to, you know, have conversations and not agree with you.

“You need players with their own personalities, their own opinions, their own character to question the manager at times.

“Top managers like that, they like that, then you can debate it. So, yes, I think looking back, he’ll have regrets.

“But I still think he’s as good as any manager out there to lead us into the next tournament, in my opinion.”

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