Michael Owen has cast doubt on England's prospects of winning the 2026 World Cup, pointing to the 'horrible' heat conditions in the USA as a significant factor. The former striker, who burst onto the scene in the 1998 World Cup, believes the sweltering temperatures will hamper Thomas Tuchel's squad as they face Croatia in Dallas, Ghana in Boston, and Panama in New Jersey.
Owen's Assessment of England's Chances
Owen, now an ambassador for Casino.org, admitted that while England could theoretically win, he thinks they are not good enough compared to other teams. 'Listen, we obviously can win it, we've got a good team. But I don't think we are good enough, I think there are teams that are better than us,' he said.
He specifically highlighted France's squad as superior. 'I look at France's squad and I think they are a lot better than us. Then I look at the conditions and think we are probably the least equipped nation to play in that type of temperature. There are other teams that it will affect as well, but there is not the pressure on the other teams to have the ball, to press.'
Pressure and Playing Style
Owen noted that England is expected to dominate possession, which may not suit them in the heat. 'The problem as well is we're expected to have the ball all the time. It's not going to be good enough from an English person's point of view to be playing counter-attacking football, which probably would suit us best. So I just think the conditions won't suit and there are one or two better teams. So we might get to the semis or quarters, but I can't see us winning.'
Personal Experience with Heat
Reflecting on his own World Cup memories, Owen recalled the 2002 quarter-final against Brazil in Japan as his most sweltering match. 'The Japan World Cup, quarter-finals against Brazil. We played against Nigeria in the group stages as well and it was unbearable. But the Japan World Cup was bad.'
Owen scored the opener in that match, but Brazil came back to win 2-1 and eventually became champions. He described the heat as 'horrible' and noted that while water breaks will help, they won't solve all problems. 'Certain players can handle the heat a lot better than others. Obviously there are going to be water breaks, which will be helpful to us. But it's not like you can turn the sun off.'
Coping with Conditions
Owen explained the difficulty of playing in extreme heat. 'It's just going to be red hot and I don't think we'll cope with it that well, especially when we are expected to be on the front foot and using energy all the time. That would be my big worry. But what can you do? You run around, you can't wait til half-time to refuel again, and if someone goes down you run to the side of the pitch to try and get a drink.'
He added, 'It's horrible. It's not a nice thing. There's nothing you can do about it. But we didn't have drinks breaks like they are having in this tournament, so that will help. But if you have a drink and you start playing again, within three or four minutes you are gasping again. It's not like a drinks break is going to solve all our problems. You probably need a drink every four, five or six minutes in that heat. So it will still be tough for them.'
