Tuchel must win something to justify England role, says Redknapp

LONDON : Thomas Tuchel was a surprise choice as England coach and will have to win next year's World Cup to justify the FA's decision to appoint him, according to Harry Redknapp.

German Tuchel became England's third overseas head coach when he was named as Gareth Southgate's successor last year and makes his debut against Albania at Wembley on Friday.

Former West Ham United, Portsmouth and Tottenham Hotspur manager Redknapp said Tuchel, who has an 18-month contract, was not his obvious choice, but that he has inherited a squad which is the envy of the world.

"It's all a strange situation really. I heard (former Arsenal goalkeeper) Jens Lehmann this morning saying could you imagine Germany having an English manager? It's impossible," Redknapp, who will return to the dugout for a South of England v North of England fixture in June, told reporters.

"It wasn't a manager that jumped out at me when I heard it. I thought, oh my God. When we got (Italian Fabio) Capello, you've got Capello, he's a serial winner, the Champions League, Milan, wherever he managed. He was iconic.

"Tuchel's been here, done okay."

The 51-year-old Tuchel won two league titles with Paris St Germain, the Champions League with Chelsea and the Bundesliga at Bayern Munich but this is his first international role.

England's World Cup qualifying campaign begins against Albania before they host Latvia on Monday and Redknapp says the German will learn little from those fixtures.

"Listen, it's hard to judge at the moment. He's picked a squad to play two useless teams. I'll be watching Coronation Street (TV soap opera) when that's on. I just can't be bothered to watch that," the 78-year-old Redknapp added.

"What do we gain from seeing us beat Latvia 5-0 or 6-0? What do we