FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION chief executive Mark Bullingham feels Thomas Tuchel’s contract extension removes unnecessary distractions and offers a sense of control should England falter at the World Cup.

The German head coach is on the eve of his first international tournament match, 20 months on from being announced as Sir Gareth Southgate’s successor on a deal until the end of this summer.

But a flawless World Cup qualification campaign saw the FA move to extend Tuchel’s deal in February, with the England boss agreeing to lead the national team through the home Euros in 2028.

A similar pre-tournament extension backfired with Fabio Capello ahead of the 2010 World Cup, but Bullingham is confident the right balance has been struck as the former Chelsea manager attracted admiring glances.

Asked if Tuchel being linked to other jobs was a factor in the decision, the FA chief said: “We’d actually started speaking to him a little bit before that managerial merry-go-round started, so, no, it wasn’t.

“I think the reality is he is a top-level manager who would be in demand, right? And we knew we had someone we felt was doing a really good job and they would be in demand and you can’t expect someone to wait around and say, ‘Well, I’ll just leave it a long time and see how we go.’

“That’s not the reality of life, I don’t think, in any profession, so our decision was, we’ve got someone doing a really good job.

“We think we can sign them up for another two years. It’s a home tournament; it’s really, really important.

“Home tournaments as well, the pressure is even bigger than a normal tournament and you want someone who’s been there and done it.”

England have reached the final of the last two European Championships and arrive at the World Cup among the favourites.

Bullingham was unwilling to specify what he considered success this summer, but indicated that the FA has built unspecified protections into Tuchel’s deal should things unravel spectacularly in North America.

“There’s performance clauses in every single contract with the FA, right? I’m not going to go into any detail on what they are,” he said ahead of Wednesday’s Group L opener against Croatia.

“The reality is we’re really confident he’s going to be our coach in 2028.”

That confidence extends to Tuchel staying in lockstep with the FA rather than making an early return to club management.

“He’s very happy with us,” Bullingham said. “We’re very happy with him. So I don’t see it as a risk. But I’m not saying those approaches won’t happen, because they could.”

Bullingham is full of praise for the way Tuchel has adapted to the rhythm of international football, highlighting his energy and aura.

“In his own environment, he’s incredibly dynamic and energetic, but he absolutely owns the room and owns the camp and he’s brilliant at connecting with everyone,” Bullingham added.

Tuchel is a vastly different character to Southgate, but Bullingham is grateful to the former England boss for providing the platform to go for World Cup glory.

“There’s no question that Gareth laid brilliant foundations that made the job attractive,” he said.

“The level of manager that wanted to work with us was extremely high. A lot of big names were keen on the job and I’d say that is a tribute to Gareth and Steve (Holland), who made it an attractive role.”