England star addresses Thomas Tuchel criticism after crossing paths at Bayern Munich

Having won the Euros with the Lionesses, Georgia Stanway knows a thing or two about succeeding for England - and she has backed Thomas Tuchel to do the same

Lionesses midfielder Georgia Stanway has revealed she can "only say good things" about new England boss Thomas Tuchel after crossing paths with the German during his time at Bayern Munich.

Stanway joined the Bavarians from Manchester City in the summer of 2022, helping them win back-to-back league titles as well as the 2024 DFB-Supercup. The 25-year-old knows a thing or two about what it takes to be successful in an England shirt, having played a key role in the Lionesses' triumph at the Women's European Championship in 2022.

And, despite news of Tuchel's appointment as Three Lions head coach having divided public opinion, Stanway believes his nationality will have no bearing on how successful he is in his new role.

“I think it’s great," she said. "I’ve got a Norwegian manager (at Bayern) as well and it’s just whoever is best for the job and whoever the people feel is suitable for the players.

"I actually had a few experiences with Tuchel at Bayern and he was really invested and really interested in the women’s game. He wanted to get to know the players, both him and (Anthony) Barry. I’ve spoken with them a few times and they were just really invested and really nice people.

"They came to a few games and I’ve seen them at a few events. They’ve always had time for us. So far I can only say good things in terms of the personalities I’ve met.”

The Lionesses have first-hand experience of excelling under a foreign coach, with Dutchwoman Sarina Wiegman having led them to Euros success plus a maiden Women's World Cup final. Quizzed on whether she finds the criticism of Tuchel's appointment strange, Stanway added: “I’ve not been on social media for two weeks…everyone is entitled to their opinions, I guess we have just got to see what happens."

Wiegman's side are set to return to action this week as they host great rivals Germany - whom they beat in the Euros final - at Wembley. The Lionesses will take on Christian Wuck's team in a friendly on Friday night before welcoming South Africa to the Coventry Building Society Arena next Tuesday as they ramp up their preparations for next summer's Euros in Switzerland.

"We won a Euros, we made a World Cup final which was unbelievable," Stanway said. "At some point, there is going to be a bit of a plateau.

"We are going to go in a straight line at some point and that probably ended with us not qualifying for the Olympics. But from there, we have gone up again.

"The Nations League was a little bit rocky but our performances (away) against France and Sweden, who are both top nations and will be among the top teams in the Euros, they’ve both exceptional, from that you can see how we want to play, the football we want to play going into the Euros.

"This is the start of a new campaign. We are keen to know what we have done and achieved, but also recognise that is the past and we want to create history again. The next things is the Euros in Switzerland so we have to use these friendlies, the four we’ve got before the New Year, to see how we want to do it, how we want to play."

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