Michael Owen says England can get to the semis or quarters, but he cannot see them winning the World Cup. He pointed to the sweltering conditions in the United States and to stronger sides, including France, as the reason his view does not extend to a title run.
Owen on England's limits
“Listen, we obviously can win it, we've got a good team. But I don't think we are good enough, I think there are teams that are better than us,” Owen said as he assessed England's chances. He added: “I look at France's squad and I think they are a lot better than us.”
That leaves England in a familiar spot: good enough to stay in the conversation, not strong enough in Owen's eyes to finish the job. He said, “We're a very good team, but there are two or three better teams.”
Hot conditions in the USA
Owen also made the conditions part of his case. England will face Croatia in Dallas, Ghana in Boston and Panama in New Jersey, and he said the heat will make that path harder for Thomas Tuchel's squad.
“Then I look at the conditions and think we are probably the least equipped nation to play in that type of temperature,” he said. “The problem as well is we're expected to have the ball all the time.”
He said counter-attacking football would suit England best, but added: “It's not going to be good enough from an English person's point of view to be playing counter-attacking football, which probably would suit us best.”
Owen's own World Cup heat
Owen, who played in the 1998 World Cup and the 2002 World Cup, drew on his own experience in Japan. He scored England's opener against Brazil in the 2002 quarter-finals, before Rivaldo and Ronaldinho scored after halftime to send Brazil into the semi-finals.
“The Japan World Cup, quarter-finals against Brazil. We played against Nigeria in the group stages as well and it was unbearable. But the Japan World Cup was bad,” he said. That memory is the backdrop to his warning about the United States, where England's route runs through three group games in different cities and a climate he believes could push them closer to the edge than their rivals.
