In 2015, Anthony Barry was a lower-league footballer at Accrington Stanley, nearing the end of his playing career and taking his first steps as a coach with the club's Under-16 side. Eleven years on, he will sit alongside Thomas Tuchel as England attempt to reach a first men's World Cup final since 1966 when they face Argentina on Wednesday (kick-off 20:00 BST).
Barry has become a recognisable figure during this tournament thanks to his no-nonsense half-time television interviews during England's matches. At 40 years old, he already has a wide-ranging CV as an elite coach with prior experience at Chelsea, Bayern Munich and with the Portugal and Belgium national teams. His journey to this point is one of the most remarkable rises in football.
“Anthony Barry's journey from Accrington Stanley to England assistant coach for World Cup semi-final against Argentina.”
The Liverpool-born coach describes himself as the yin to Tuchel's yang and acknowledges their partnership can "look a bit strange at times" because of their difference in height and background. The England assistant is quick to make clear that Tuchel is the boss - and pokes fun at their "little and large" frames, with the German about eight inches taller.
Barry's playing career path is not one that will be very recognisable to many of those in the England squad, with the former midfielder spending most of his time in the lower leagues. He was part of the Accrington Stanley side 20 years ago that won the Conference to return to the Football League for the first time in 44 years. Barry was reminded of that anniversary while speaking to 5 Live Sport. "In shock at the question because, 20 years ago, was I really winning the league for Accrington Stanley?" he said.
Barry's first coaching job after retiring as a player was as assistant manager at Wigan Athletic. But, after impressing Frank Lampard on the Uefa Pro Licence course, he became first-team coach at Chelsea in the summer of 2020. Tuchel replaced Lampard when the former England midfielder was sacked in January 2021, but the German retained Barry. Within months Chelsea had won the Champions League.
During that time Barry had also spread his wings into international football - working as an assistant coach with the Republic of Ireland before taking the same role under Roberto Martinez - first with Belgium, then Portugal. That allowed him to coach at a World Cup and European Championship, while also working with global greats including Cristiano Ronaldo and Kevin de Bruyne. Known as an innovative and enthusiastic coach, Barry also specialises in set-pieces and he wrote a dissertation as part of his Pro Licence for which he analysed 17,000 throw-ins.
Meanwhile, Noni Madueke's World Cup performance against Norway has cost him a place in Thomas Tuchel's starting lineup against Argentina, according to Gabby Agbonlahor. The Arsenal winger failed to impress during England's quarter-final match and was taken off for Bukayo Saka after 45 minutes. The Three Lions next play for a place in the World Cup final, with little room for anyone to make an error if the team want to taste success. Madueke has started four of England's World Cup matches thus far, coming off the bench against Panama and not featuring against Mexico. The 24-year-old has generally alternated with Saka, who has been attempting to prove his fitness while managing an Achilles issue. Agbonlahor does not believe that Madueke has done enough to earn another chance from Tuchel.
"The hard thing about the last game for Madueke was he wasn’t great at all," the ex-Aston Villa striker said on talkSPORT. "He had two or three opportunities and when he took on a defender on the outside, his crosses were a bit wild on his weaker foot. And these sorts of games, these tough games – and how hard it was to break Norway down in that first half – you might only get three chances to take your full-back on. And that’s what he’s been judged on – dragged at half-time."
Agbonlahor would not opt to utilise Saka as Madueke's replacement, however. The former forward would instead opt for someone who remained on the bench against Norway, Marcus Rashford. "I wouldn’t mind seeing [Marcus] Rashford on that side," he said. "I just think sometimes, you look at the Argentinian full-backs – they're there for the taking. Rashford didn't get on last game. Why can't you play Rashford off that right-hand side, mix it up a bit? And then you bring him off maybe for Saka on 60 minutes, if Saka can't start games. But I think Madueke has played himself out of a starting spot."
Ex-England striker Darren Bent was also heavily critical of Madueke's performance. "I hate being overly critical on players because I understand what it takes to get to that level in terms of playing for your country; it's hard," Bent said on talkSPORT. "But when you put in that level of performance that Noni did, where you're offside in positions where you should never be offside, you've got the perfect position to stand on the touchline and look along the line... he's getting that …"