"I still think we have a better squad than Argentina, although we lost deservedly," Owen said, summing up England's semi-final defeat.
The former striker keeps coming back to one tactical paradox. A side leads 1-0, and the manager sends on another defender. That is not defending, in Owen's reading. It is a manager who does not trust what he already has on the pitch. England kept hacking the ball away in a panic, and for Owen the flawed thinking behind those clearances is the real problem. "Courage and bravery is keeping the ball under pressure, not getting rid of it."
The players earned their credit for effort. Yet the shortage of tactical nous is what cost them the European Championship final against Italy, and it has now cost them a place in the closing stages of the World Cup.
