Thomas Tuchel has revealed he will sing England's national anthem if the Three Lions reach the World Cup final, admitting he remains too "shy" to join in at this stage of the tournament.
The England manager has stood silently during God Save The King since taking charge in January 2025, prompting questions over whether he would eventually sing the anthem despite being born and raised in Germany.
With England preparing to begin their World Cup campaign against Croatia in Dallas on Wednesday evening, Tuchel suggested supporters may finally hear him join in should his side reach the showpiece match on July 19.
"Not yet. I think we are not there yet," Tuchel said when asked if he would sing the anthem before England's opening Group L fixture.
"At the very end maybe.
"I am still a bit shy. I don't want to offend people and don't want to have the focus on that now."
Asked whether he knew the words, the 52-year-old laughed before replying: "It's not so difficult."
Tuchel's comments come as thousands of England supporters descend on Texas ahead of the Three Lions' first match of the tournament.
Thomas Tuchel has revealed he will sing England's national anthem if the Three Lions reach the World Cup final, admitting he remains too "shy" to join in at this stage of the tournament
|GETTY
Thomas Tuchel has not sung the national anthem since becoming England manager
| ITVAround 10,000 fans are expected to attend the clash at the 80,000-capacity AT&T Stadium in Arlington, where England will seek to make a positive start against a Croatia side they famously lost to in the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup.
The former Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss has frequently spoken of his admiration for English football culture and has attempted to instil a more physical and aggressive style since succeeding Gareth Southgate.
However, he has so far resisted singing God Save The King publicly.
Among England's previous foreign managers, Sven-Goran Eriksson occasionally appeared to sing parts of the anthem during his five years in charge, though Fabio Capello remained silent throughout his tenure, including during England's 4-1 defeat to Germany at the 2010 World Cup.
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England's record at the World Cup | GETTY/ GB NEWSElsewhere in international football, Sweden manager Graham Potter has been seen singing the Swedish anthem, while United States head coach Mauricio Pochettino does not join in with The Star-Spangled Banner.
England completed their final training session at their Kansas City base before travelling to Dallas on Tuesday and received a police escort from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport to The Adolphus hotel, which will serve as their headquarters for the opening stages of the competition.
Tuchel's preparations have not been entirely smooth, however.
Newcastle defender Tino Livramento was ruled out of the tournament after suffering a calf injury in training and is expected to return home after scans revealed a low-grade tear.
Chelsea's Trevoh Chalobah has been drafted in as his replacement.
Explaining that decision, Tuchel said: "Tino was of course very disappointed and very sad. All of us were.
"It was kind of a shock in training and when he stopped training and he had the feeling that this could be an injury that costs him the tournament and he was unfortunately right.
"We called Trevoh Chalobah because we then free up Jarell Quansah as a full-back on both sides and Djed Spence can be a full-back on both sides.
Trevoh Chalobah will likely be on the bench for England at this summer's World Cup | PA"Trevoh comes as a centre-back alternative and gives us full coverage in the back four."
Tuchel also called on England to 'go for it' as they chase a first major trophy in 60 years.
"They want to be active with the ball," he said. "We have a young group. We have a courageous group. We have a brave group of players.
"So let's go for it. I mean, no-one guarantees you that we win. So we want to at least try it, our style and our belief."