Former England striker Robbie Fowler had said that England failed to deliver at the FIFA World Cup 2026 following its semifinal elimination at the hands of defending champion Argentina.
Fowler, who is an expert on the post-match panel for Indian audiences during the tournament, said, “When you look at the history of the last four tournaments, England have done remarkably well. Two finals in the Euros and obviously a semifinal in the World Cup, they’ve been okay.
So, a new manager (Thomas Tuchel) comes in and the remit is wanting someone who’s got a chance of winning the tournament, you’ve got to say England probably didn’t deliver.”
England topped its group (which had Croatia, Ghana, and Panama), before producing a series of gritty performances against DR Congo (Round of 32), Mexico (Round of 16), and Norway (quarterfinals) to make the final four, but Fowler noted that it never fully seemed to click into gear.
“They had an incredible appetite of wanting to win games, but I don’t think their performances have been brilliant,” he said.
England took the lead in Wednesday’s semifinal in Atlanta through an Anthony Gordon strike, but capsized in the final minutes of the match to concede twice. Fowler pointed to Tuchel’s decision to remove Gordon for defender Ezri Konsa as a turning point in the match.
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“England sort of lost their shape. But for me, that’s not down to the players, that’s down to the manager,” he said.
“I think his decision sort of altered the game. In football, mentality is big. If you’ve got a coach on the side who’s taken off one of your forward players and put on a defender, then straight away the mindset changes where players will automatically drop deep.”
Fowler, who scored seven times for England in 26 appearances, suggested that an extra attacker to relieve the pressure would have benefitted England instead.
“From a coaching point of view, I think he got it wrong. I think he maybe should have put another striker on, or replaced a striker. Obviously, those lads were tired, but he invited pressure. That’s not on, you can’t be inviting pressure when you’re playing against one of the best players that’s ever lived. Eventually, they’ll get a chance, and it just so happened that he pulled out two assists.”
The former centre-forward also noted that Harry Kane – who could not manage a single touch in the Argentine box – had an off-night.
“I don’t think he had the greatest game yesterday,” Fowler said. “At times, he probably looked as though he did lose half a pace. That might have been the game, it might have been too many games, it might have been the temperature. But he looked very leggy last night.”
The interaction was organised by Zee5, the official broadcaster of the FIFA World Cup 2026 in India.
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Published on Jul 16, 2026