The uncomfortable truth is that England went into the 2026 World Cup believing their biggest strength might be the players operating behind Harry Kane. Michael Owen does not sound convinced. Not even close. His verdict is blunt, and it cuts right to the heart of England's tournament: the wide attackers have not really worked.
That is a sharp assessment, but it is also a fair one. Thomas Tuchel has used Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Anthony Gordon and Noni Madueke in those areas, and England have still ended up with a side that feels more secure than electric. Kane and Jude Bellingham have been the reliable core, while the players outside them have mostly hovered in that awkward zone between useful and decisive.
England's wide problem is the real story
Before the tournament even began, Owen had already been looking beyond the obvious names and pointing to Phil Foden and Cole Palmer as players who could have been in the squad. That matters because it tells you what he thinks England needed: more rotation, more fresh legs and, crucially, more variety in the areas that were supposed to hurt opponents.
Instead, Owen says England have been too settled. His argument is simple enough. If the wide positions are one of the places that can win or lose the tournament, then there should have been far more movement there. He accepted that there has been some chopping and changing, but not enough to make the attack feel alive. And when you are into the business end of a World Cup, that is not a minor criticism. That is the kind of problem that can end a campaign early.
Owen was also careful not to write the players off completely. His view was that Rashford, Gordon, Madueke and Saka have done OK — but only OK. In a tournament like this, that is nowhere near a glowing review. These are the moments when somebody has to go from decent to decisive, and England have not consistently found that gear.
There is still room for the story to change, of course. Owen said there are two games left, and two of the biggest games. That is the football equivalent of a warning label. No one will care much about the group stage if one of these attackers turns up in the final and produces the sort of performance that rewrites the whole narrative.
But that is exactly why Owen's comments land so hard. He is not saying England are doomed. He is saying the plan has not fully worked, and that the team have leaned too heavily on a settled structure in areas where unpredictability should have been the weapon. With two games left at the 2026 World Cup, England still have time to make the wide positions matter. Owen's point is that they have not really done it yet.
