Owen has revealed the reason England lost to Argentina and missed the 2026 World Cup final.
"They brought it on themselves!" Owen expressed frustration as England switched to a defensive playstyle and ended up losing to Argentina.
Michael Owen, former England international striker turned football analyst, admitted he was very frustrated to see England shift to a defensive approach after leading 1-0, only to lose 1-2 to Argentina and miss the 2026 World Cup final, a truly disappointing outcome.
Owen said, "It's really frustrating. Clearly, I think England controlled the game when leading 1-0. Everything was going well, and I feel we completely let the game slip away. We handed the game over to them. It’s very frustrating."
"Before conceding the goal, we controlled the match. I thought we were slightly the better team, and if we had played that way, we could have won 1-0 or 2-0. I just think we needed to look at Spain last night to see how to behave when leading 1-0 — show the courage to keep playing football."
"Bringing on three defenders and taking off midfielders and attackers — what does that mean? It was a very bad decision."
"Reaching the semi-finals suggested we were having another good tournament, but it was a missed opportunity."
"What we hoped for with Tuchel’s arrival was a winning mentality, the ability to overcome obstacles, to make a difference. But what is missing? A positive attitude, a brave manager."