This video can not be played I'm the yin to his yang - Barry on Tuchel

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.

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.

Football Daily: Anthony Barry on Thomas Tuchel and the World Cup Wednesday 15 July, 20:00 BST

Barry's playing career path is not one that will be very recognisable to many of those in the England squad, with 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. Barry was reunited with Tuchel when the German took him to Bayern Munich in 2023.

"As a young English coach, it's a gift to be around a manager like him," he said. "He is, in my opinion, absolutely world class, and right now he is in his best moment, on his best form. "Really in the heat of a competition is when I think he comes to his best, and I think the players see and feel that at the moment. "So the dynamic between me and him right now is we spend a lot of time together, we push each other, and on the back of me and him pushing each other, we push the team."

Barry is the only English coach in Tuchel's core support staff, although Justin Cochrane is a member of the wider coaching staff. Henrique Hilario, Nico Mayer and James Melbourne joined Tuchel and Barry in signing a new contract until 2028.

Barry, left, has worked with Tuchel at Chelsea, Bayern Munich and now England.

Tuchel has been clear he wants to bring a club feel to the national team - and it is something Barry believes is vital. Barry told BBC Sport in April that "the petrol in the car is the team spirit" and referenced how important team connection was when trying to achieve World Cup glory.

England have had to produce battling performances during this tournament, notably when going behind against DR Congo and beating Mexico in the Azteca Stadium. "Anybody that watched the Mexico game would see that the tank is full," Barry said. "If you could feel the spirit in the training ground, see the spirit around the hotel, see the way they interact - it's just a pleasure to be around."

In the lead-up to the World Cup, Barry estimated that he and Tuchel had only 50 days of training with the players, which is why team chemistry is so highly valued. "We always felt not so sure that when you have players for such a short period of time that you can build this fantastic football," Barry added. "It's really, really difficult. So that's why we tried to build a team spirit and a brotherhood."

England have produced moments of brilliance in this tournament without putting together consistently dazzling performances. During his time as England manager, Tuchel has looked to make the most of the physicality of the football played in the Premier League.

Temperatures in the US have been high and with hydration breaks effectively breaking the games into quarters, matches have had a different flow. However, the Three Lions have only had one match - the 2-1 quarter-final win over Norway in Miami - in what could be considered demanding conditions for football.

But it is the high volume of games in a short period of time that could have the biggest impact on the team. If England reach the final, Tuchel's side will have played six games in a 22-day period from the last group game against Panama. "There's no shock to us," Barry said. "We knew every hour between games, how to use it, whether that's rest them well, whether that's train them well, whether that's eating well, all of the above. "The schedule is a challenge, but it was the same for all the other 48 teams."

Barry and Tuchel travelled to the US last summer to watch the Club World Cup. They spent time looking at potential training bases, facilities, and even how the ball moved on the grass - and took confidence from Chelsea's victory as it proved "that an English team can win" in the USA.

Barry knows he and Tuchel - a proven winner at elite level - will be judged on whether or not England return with the World Cup. "We've been dreaming for 18 months," Barry said of the vision he and Tuchel had after taking charge of the team in January 2025. "When you're in elite sport, dreaming is one of the most important things. But a dream is just a dream without work."

Barry added that he and Tuchel are "healthily obsessed" with football and with their goal of trying to "win the biggest titles" in football. "When we got offered an opportunity in a job like this, we knew it would take absolutely everything from us, but we were both willing to give it," he said.

The final word has to be on those half-time interviews - and in particular his critical assessment of the team's first-half display against Croatia in the opening match that went viral. Asked if he was a "bit of a half-time star", he said: "So people keep saying, but I certainly wouldn't call myself a star - just a person doing his job. "We get asked to do a question at half-time. The decision was whether Thomas or I would do it. "We didn't want to put the responsibility onto a player. Tuchel does more than enough media, so it's my turn to share the workload."

England to make late call on Rice for World Cup semi-final

'Easy to create divisions' - Kane says England are 'completely together'

Most clinical? Least creative? Best in the air? Comparing the last four