Owen calls for foreign coaches ban after Tuchel's England fall to Argentina in World Cup semi-final

Thomas Tuchel’s England were eliminated from the World Cup at the semi-final stage after Argentina came from behind to win 2-1, with Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez cancelling out Anthony Gordon’s close-range opener to send the reigning world champions through to the final.

The defeat prompted former England striker Michael Owen to make a sweeping call for reform. Responding on social media to a post noting that every World Cup-winning manager had been a native of the country they coached, Owen wrote: “There should be no such thing as foreign coaches in international football.”

Owen’s former Liverpool team-mate Robbie Fowler also appeared to question Tuchel’s approach, suggesting that a great coach should not rely on defensive resilience and fortune. “A great coach/manager isn’t someone who relies on the bravery of defenders throwing themselves in front of shots/crosses or the luck of hanging on with X amount of defenders on the pitch,” Fowler said.

Chris Sutton was more direct in his criticism of the German. “It’s all on the coach where I’m concerned. He made the changes. He was negative, so the question which I’m going to ask is how can you trust Thomas Tuchel to take this team forward?”

For much of the match, England had defended deep after Gordon’s goal, inviting sustained Argentine pressure before the two-time world champions eventually found a way through. The nature of the defeat has intensified scrutiny of Tuchel’s tactical conservatism.

Despite the criticism, Tuchel retains the backing of the Football Association and chief executive Mark Bullingham, who described the exit as “heartbreaking” and praised the efforts of players and staff throughout the tournament. The England head coach, who is contracted until after Euro 2028, also made clear he has no intention of resigning.

“First of all, the World Cup is not over,” Tuchel said when asked about his future. “There is still a match to play. Of course then we keep on going. I have a contract until the home Euros and I’m looking forward to that — even if right now it is difficult to look that far ahead.”

England’s exit means the pattern holds: no nation has ever won the World Cup with a foreign head coach. In Sunday’s final, Spain’s Luis de la Fuente and Argentina’s Lionel Scaloni — both natives of the countries they manage — will contest the trophy in what marks the first ever World Cup final between the champions of Europe and South America.