Michael Owen Desak Thomas Tuchel Mainkan Bukayo Saka Kontra Argentina

Mantan penyerang tim nasional Inggris Michael Owen mendesak pelatih Thomas Tuchel untuk memainkan Bukayo Saka sebagai starter dalam pertandingan semifinal Piala Dunia 2026 melawan Argentina di Stadion Mercedes-Benz, Atlanta, pada Rabu, 15 Juli 2026.

Owen menilai kehadiran pemain sayap Arsenal tersebut sangat dibutuhkan untuk menggantikan Noni Madueke guna membongkar pertahanan Argentina yang dinilai rapuh di area melebar. Inggris sendiri melaju ke semifinal setelah mengalahkan Norwegia 2-1 melalui babak perpanjangan waktu, sementara Argentina menyingkirkan Swiss dengan skor 3-1.

Saka tercatat baru tampil sebagai starter dalam dua dari enam pertandingan Inggris di turnamen ini karena sempat terkendala masalah kebugaran, sedangkan empat laga lainnya dilakoni sebagai pemain pengganti.

"Obviously, Saka is coming back from an injury and just building his way back into the tournament, but my inkling would be that Saka would start in this one," kata Michael Owen, mantan striker Inggris.

Owen menambahkan bahwa laga semifinal ini terlalu krusial untuk tidak memainkan Saka sejak menit awal, terutama demi membangun kerja sama di lini depan bersama Harry Kane dan Jude Bellingham.

"I think you're right, considering that. I thought going into this World Cup, those three attacking players in behind [Harry] Kane, I thought that was our strength. And it's not really worked out like that," ujar Michael Owen saat diwawancarai GOAL via Covers.com.

Mantan pemain Real Madrid tersebut menyoroti performa lini serang sayap Inggris yang diisi Marcus Rashford, Anthony Gordon, Noni Madueke, hingga Saka yang dinilai baru tampil dalam level lumayan namun belum maksimal.

"Kane and [Jude] Bellingham have been our strength, I guess. Whether it's Rashford or Gordon or Madueke or Saka, they've been predominantly the ones that have played. They've done OK, but nothing more than OK," tutur Michael Owen.

Ia meyakini para pemain sayap tersebut masih memiliki kesempatan besar untuk menjadi penentu di dua laga sisa Piala Dunia.

"And they're in positions where they can come on and they can be fresh. They'll get rotated all the time. They should really be on the score sheet and certainly be getting plenty of assists out of them. But it's not quite been like that yet," ucap Michael Owen.

Owen juga menyayangkan keputusan Tuchel yang tidak membawa pemain kreatif lain seperti Phil Foden dan Cole Palmer ke dalam skuad Piala Dunia kali ini.

"But still two games to go and two of the biggest games. No one will remember the group stages if one of them goes and scores a couple of goals in the World Cup final," kata Michael Owen.

Ia sempat memperkirakan akan ada rotasi yang lebih dinamis di sektor sayap ofensif sepanjang turnamen berlangsung.

"Absolutely. I was of the opinion, and still am, that throughout the tournament we should really have been rotating those players," kata Michael Owen.

Namun, Tuchel rupanya lebih memilih untuk mempertahankan komposisi tim yang sudah mapan dan konsisten dalam setiap laga.

"I know they have chopped and changed a little bit, but I thought there'd be a lot more rotation in those areas. Certainly, I suppose before the squad was even picked, I was looking at some other players that could be there - the Phil Fodens, the Cole Palmers of this world. We put a load of our great players in those positions, put them into the squad, then we've got plenty of rotation, plenty of fresh legs, plenty of new ideas throughout the tournament," ujar Michael Owen.

Hingga kini, kontribusi gol terbesar Inggris masih dipegang oleh Harry Kane dan Jude Bellingham yang masing-masing telah mengemas enam gol.

"Those could be the positions that win or lose the tournament. But it's not really been like that. He's pretty much stuck to quite a settled team," pungkas Michael Owen.