England kick off their 2026 World Cup campaign against Croatia on Wednesday night in Dallas as Thomas Tuchel looks to end 60 years of hurt. The Three Lions reached the quarter-finals of the last World Cup in Qatar and have been beaten finalists in the last two Euros finals under Gareth Southgate. But the FA have thrown a Hail Mary at this year’s tournament in North America by giving their backing to serial winner Tuchel.
However, England hero Michael Owen is not convinced that the Three Lions can win their first major international trophy since 1966 this summer, and the ex-Liverpool and Manchester United striker has given a few reasons why.
Owen's Concerns Over Conditions and Squad
Speaking exclusively to the Daily Star Sport, Owen, who is the face of Casino.org in the UK, a leading comparison website helping Brits find online casinos that suit their preferences, explained why he isn’t confident about the prospect of Football Coming Home.
“I'm not that hot on them, to be honest. Obviously we've got a chance, and there's a handful of teams that have got a chance, but you can't get over the conditions, like 40-odd degrees and the heat and the humidity,” he said.
“I wouldn't mind if we were a counter-attacking team, and it might be suitable for us to do that, but people expect us to have the ball and to press and do all these things, and to do that in that heat, I’m not sure.
“Someone said to me last night, this is the best team we've had in a tournament in years. And I was like is it? I mean it's a good team, but I just think it's a solid team, one that has got a chance. But it's certainly not individually better than France or one or two others.”
Criticism of Tuchel's Squad Selection
Owen also criticised Tuchel’s squad selection after the German left out superstars like Cole Palmer, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Phil Foden. While experienced defenders Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw were also overlooked.
He said: “I think when you've got a big squad, when you've got all those players that you can choose you can afford to take some risks, bring some maverick players.
“I definitely would have taken Cole Palmer, maybe even Foden, obviously Harry Maguire not going was a shock. I’d take Trent too with his free kicks and creativity.
“I've gone on record before saying I think the squad is what's going win or lose us the competition. If I were the manager, I'd just have filled the squad with all of those, because that's where we're stronger in our country at the moment.
“I'd have filled the squad with all of those players and literally make a change at halftime. I don't care if someone scored a hat trick, change all three at half-time, every single game, keep them fresh.
“Substitutes will win this World Cup, freshness, fatigue is going to be the big question mark, and I'd just rotate the hell out of those positions all the time.”
England face Ghana and Panama in their other two games in Group L before the path to the final will start to become clearer.
