A German in charge of England? Nationality matters less than it used to in international soccer

AP Sports Writer

England’s national team will have a foreign coach for the third time after hiring German Thomas Tuchel. Smaller soccer nations often let foreigners lead their national teams but coaches from overseas countries are still rare among the top powers in international soccer such as Spain, Germany, Italy and Brazil. Spain and Italy in particular have a strong coaching pedigree and a deeply ingrained soccer culture. However four of the top nine teams in the world ranking are now led by a coach from a different country and the likes of Germany and Brazil appear more open to having a foreign coach. One expert says coaching methods are more universal now and “it’s more the personality that counts and not the nationality.”