Owen condemns Tuchel's defensive shift as England collapse to Argentina in stoppage time

England’s World Cup ended in painful fashion as Argentina overturned a one-goal deficit in the final ten minutes, with Enzo Fernandez equalising before Lautaro Martinez headed home a stoppage-time winner to send the Three Lions home.

Anthony Gordon had given England the lead, but Thomas Tuchel’s immediate switch to a defensive shape handed Argentina sustained pressure for the final half-hour. The South Americans struck the post twice before completing the turnaround, with Martinez’s header in added time delivering the knockout blow.

Former England striker Michael Owen was unsparing in his assessment, arguing the result was an inevitable consequence of Tuchel’s approach. “Bringing on three defenders at 1-0 up — what message does that send?” Owen wrote on social media. “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.”

Owen drew a sharp contrast with Spain, who maintained possession and continued pressing forward when leading France 1-0 in their semi-final. “Watch Spain at 1-0 Tuesday night. That’s courage. That’s bravery,” he said. “And then watch England at 1-0. What’s the difference?”

The former striker, who scored a famous goal against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup, had already flagged his concerns after England’s earlier win over Mexico, and he reiterated that the underlying tactical problem runs deeper than one result. “Until we understand that courage and bravery is controlling possession under pressure and not booting or heading it up the field 40 yards, then this will always be the end result.”

Owen stopped short of writing off England’s overall progress under Tuchel, acknowledging the squad’s consistency in reaching the latter stages of major tournaments. “Our lads are so genuine. They can hold their heads up high,” he said. “I’m convinced that with a bit more tactical nous, we’d be European Champions and on the verge of becoming World Champions.” The reference to Euro 2020 — when England lost the final to Italy at Wembley — underlined his belief that tactical conservatism has now cost the team on more than one occasion.