Michael Owen has called out Thomas Tuchel's plan and believes England still lack the tactical smarts to win major tournaments. The former striker claims that if England had "tactical nous" they would be European champions and in with a shot of winning the World Cup, but instead highlighted how Tuchel's approach was always bound to fail.
England's World Cup dream ends in heartbreak
The Three Lions saw their World Cup dream go up in smoke as they conceded twice in the final ten minutes to lose to Argentina. The South Americans were allowed to dominate the game after England took the lead through Anthony Gordon. Tuchel immediately adopted a more defensive approach, which left Argentina peppering the England goal for the final half an hour. They twice hit the post before Enzo Fernandez equalised. Lautaro Martinez then headed home a stoppage time winner.
Owen's damning verdict
Owen poured water on some of England's earlier wins, especially against Mexico, and believes the team are still not tactically smart enough to win tournaments – which reflects poorly on Tuchel. He said on social media: "Our lads are so genuine. They can hold their heads up high. Consistently getting to the latter stages of major competitions. I'm convinced that with a bit more tactical nous, we'd be European Champions (v Italy at Wembley) and on the verge of becoming World Champions."
The former striker, who scored an iconic goal against Argentina back in 1998, cited the example of Spain as a team who keep playing even when leading, just as they did in their semi-final win over France. He also hammered home the fact that Tuchel's backs-against-the-wall approach, which paid dividends in the last 16 and quarter-finals, was always going to catch England out eventually.
Comparison with Spain
"Watch Spain at 1-0 Tuesday night. That's courage. That's bravery," Owen said. "And then watch England at 1-0. What's the difference? We are a better team than Argentina, I've no doubt in my mind. But we deserved to get beat in the end. In fact, it could have been 4-1."
He added: "Bringing on 3 defenders at 1-0 up. What message does that send? I wrote it in my Daily Mail column after the Mexico game. Until we understand that courage and bravery is controlling possession under pressure and not booting / heading it up the field 40 yards then this will always be the end result."
