In 2015, Anthony Barry featured for lower-league Accrington Stanley near the close of his playing days while launching his coaching path with the club's Under-16 squad.

Eleven years later, he will join Thomas Tuchel on the bench as England chase a first men's World Cup final since 1966 against Argentina on Wednesday (kick-off 20:00 BST).

Barry has stood out in this tournament through his direct half-time television interviews during England's games.

At 40, he already boasts broad experience as a top-level coach with stints at Chelsea, Bayern Munich and the Portugal and Belgium national sides.

His path here ranks among the most striking ascents in the sport.

The Liverpool-born coach calls himself the yin to Tuchel's yang and notes their pairing can "look a bit strange at times" due to contrasts in height and background.

The England assistant stresses that Tuchel leads while joking about their "little and large" builds, with the German roughly eight inches taller.

Barry's playing route differs sharply from most in the England squad, as the former midfielder spent the bulk of his time in lower divisions.

He featured for the Accrington Stanley team two decades ago that claimed the Conference title to re-enter the Football League after 44 years away.

Barry recalled that milestone during a chat with 5 Live Sport.

"In shock at the question because, 20 years ago, was I really winning the league for Accrington Stanley?" he remarked.

Barry's initial coaching role after hanging up his boots came as assistant manager at Wigan Athletic. Yet after impressing Frank Lampard on the Uefa Pro Licence course, he joined Chelsea as first-team coach in summer 2020.

Tuchel took over from Lampard after the former England player was dismissed in January 2021, yet the German kept Barry on. Months later Chelsea lifted the Champions League.

Barry had meanwhile ventured into international football, serving as assistant coach with the Republic of Ireland before joining Roberto Martinez first at Belgium then Portugal.

That work let him coach at a World Cup and European Championship while linking with stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Kevin de Bruyne.

Viewed as an inventive and keen coach, Barry focuses on set-pieces and produced a dissertation for his Pro Licence that examined 17,000 throw-ins.

Barry rejoined Tuchel when the German brought him to Bayern Munich in 2023.

"As a young English coach, it's a gift to be around a manager like him," he noted.

"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 remains the sole English coach in Tuchel's inner support group, though Justin Cochrane sits in the wider staff. Henrique Hilario, Nico Mayer and James Melbourne joined Tuchel and Barry in signing fresh deals until 2028.

Tuchel has stated his wish to instil a club atmosphere at the national team, and Barry sees this as essential.

Barry told BBC Sport in April that "the petrol in the car is the team spirit" and highlighted how vital team bonds prove when chasing World Cup glory.

England have delivered gritty displays in this tournament, notably when trailing against DR Congo and defeating Mexico at 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."

Ahead of the World Cup, Barry calculated that he and Tuchel had just 50 days of training time with the players, which explains why team chemistry matters so much.

"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 shown flashes of quality in this tournament without delivering consistently sparkling displays.

During his spell as England manager, Tuchel has aimed to harness the physical style common in the Premier League.

Temperatures across the US have run high and with hydration breaks splitting matches into quarters, games have followed a new rhythm.

Still, the Three Lions have played only one fixture - the 2-1 quarter-final win over Norway in Miami - under conditions that could count as demanding.

Yet the packed fixture list in a tight window may affect the side most.

Should England reach the final, Tuchel's team will have contested six matches across 22 days from the final group game versus 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 visited the US last summer to observe the Club World Cup.

They examined possible training sites, facilities and even how the ball behaved on the pitch - and drew assurance from Chelsea's triumph as it showed "that an English team can win" in the USA.

Barry understands he and Tuchel - a proven winner at the highest level - will face judgment on whether England lift the World Cup.

"We've been dreaming for 18 months," Barry said of the plan he and Tuchel formed after taking the reins 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 aim of capturing "the biggest titles" in the game.

"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 belongs to those half-time interviews - and especially his blunt review of the team's first-half showing against Croatia in the opener that spread widely online.

Asked if he had become "a bit of a half-time star", he replied: "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. Thomas does more than enough media, so it's my turn to share the workload."