‘It was the blueprint for losing’ - Owen claims England’s victory over Mexico's win tricked everyone

England were praised for a resilient defensive display after going down to ten men against Mexico at the Azteca Stadium. 

They took the confidence into the semi-final against Argentina, but their defensive display was not enough to earn them a spot in the final.

The Three Lions suffered a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat to the reigning champions Argentina, with two late goals sealing the win.

Following the defeat, Owen believed that adopting the same defensive mindset after taking the lead against Argentina proved to be the team's fatal flaw, resulting in a late collapse.

Writing in his Daily Mail column, the ex-international star claimed the reaction to the Mexico game was misguided. 

"Mexico was the worst thing that could have happened for England," Owen stated. "It was not the blueprint for winning a World Cup; it was the blueprint for losing one."

Owen expressed concern over the widespread praise for the performance, which he felt misinterpreted the nature of courage in football. 

"I warned in the hours after the 3-2 win at the Azteca of a dangerous overreaction," he wrote. "It was being labelled as our greatest-ever performance – and I was called miserable by some for pointing out that it absolutely was not."

He continued: "Sadly, it tricked everyone – even the players themselves – into believing that if you drop back and defend a lead, you’ll be lauded as a last-action hero. That’s nonsense."

"You defend a lead by keeping the ball, by scoring a second, by puffing your chests out as a team and saying, ‘We’ve been better than you for an hour; now we’ll be better than you for another half an hour.'"