The DFB vice-president, quoted from an appearance on Sky's "Meine Geschichte," said the idea had crossed his mind in the immediate fallout from that tournament.
"I would have had that idea. We went out pretty miserably in Qatar. And then? Then you spend a night, or two nights, thinking about what could happen now," Watzke said.
He was unable to push the idea through at the time, however, pointing to the influence of others within the federation's hierarchy.
"Back then Oliver Bierhoff was still there, now it's Rudi Völler. That's not my decision, who becomes national coach. But the basic feeling was simply: we carry on with Hansi Flick," Watzke said.
Flick eventually lost his job as Germany head coach in September 2023. Tuchel, who had himself been sacked by Borussia Dortmund in 2017 following a falling out with Watzke, now finds himself in charge of a different national team altogether, having taken the England job.
The episode underlines the lasting mutual respect between Watzke and Tuchel despite their earlier dispute at Dortmund, even as the timing meant their paths never crossed again within the German set-up.
Watzke's comments offer a rare glimpse into the internal thinking at the DFB during a period of considerable soul-searching following Germany's group-stage elimination in Qatar, a tournament that also ended the country's hopes at a home European Championship two years later under Flick before his eventual dismissal.
Tuchel's own managerial journey since leaving Dortmund has taken him through spells at Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich, winning the Champions League with Chelsea along the way, before he was eventually appointed by the Football Association to lead England — a route that, in hindsight, makes Watzke's early instinct about his suitability for international management look prescient, even if it was never acted upon by his own federation.