Former Liverpool and Manchester United striker Michael Owen has hit out at England’s tactics in their 2-1 loss to Argentina in the semi-final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
After a hard-fought, evenly-matched first half, the Three Lions took the lead early in the second when Anthony Gordon prodded Morgan Rogers’ cross into the net (55′). Head coach Thomas Tuchel brought on Ezri Konsa (71′), Nico O’Reilly (81′) and Dan Burn (82′) and adopted a defensive approach to see out the result.
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Unfortunately for the German tactician, his plan backfired spectacularly. Enzo Fernandez’s thumping long-range effort restored parity (85′) and Lautaro Martinez’s late header (90+2′) completed the 2-1 comeback for La Albiceleste.
In a social media post after the game, Owen lambasted Tuchel’s decision to shut up shop and park the bus. He referenced Spain’s 2-0 win over France in the other semi-final, writing (via @themichaelowen on X):
“Watch Spain at 1-0 last night (vs France). That’s courage. That’s bravery. 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.”
“Bringing on 3 defenders at 1-0 up. What message does that send? 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,” Owen added.
England will now face France in the 2026 FIFA World Cup third-place playoff on Saturday (July 18).
“No regrets” – England boss Thomas Tuchel makes claim after 2-1 loss to Argentina in FIFA World Cup semi-final
England head coach Thomas Tuchel has claimed that he has no qualms about his side’s display in a 2-1 loss to Argentina in the semi-final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Tuchel has faced severe backlash for his switch to a defensive approach after Anthony Gordon gave his side the lead (55′). Between that goal and Lautaro Martinez’s winner for Argentina (90+2′), the Three Lions had only 12% of the possession (stat via @OptaJoe on X).
Yet, while speaking to reporters after the game, the German tactician praised his side’s overall display. The 52-year-old said (via The Independent):
“We could not keep the level up after we scored. Of course we wanted to go for the second goal, but I did not feel an offensive substitution would help. We stayed in our 4-4-2 but became passive and we couldn’t win any balls and couldn’t keep the ball, so I don’t think it was a structural problem.”
“No regrets, the team gave everything and we were very very close. We deserved to be up one nil, we played one of our better matches, maybe the best match, at the moment, no regrets,” Tuchel added.After their comeback victory against England, Argentina will face off against Spain in the final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday (July 19).
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Edited by Aaryan Nagraj