Owen in the National Team
Of Canadian birth, but with a Welsh mother and English father, Owen had the choice of playing for one of three National teams.
U21
Owen: ”I wanted to play for England, one of the best and historic International teams in the world of football. I have always dreamed of playing in the Finals of the European and World Championships.” It was August 31, 2000 when Owen first pulled on a jersey bearing the famous three lions.
The then Under 21 manager, Howard Wilkinson, called the 19-year-old into his squad for the game against Georgia. The game, played in Middlesbrough, ended in a 6-1 win for the home team. Further appearances for the Under 21s followed in friendlies against Italy and Spain. This meant that at this stage Owen still had the choice to play for either Canada or Wales because according to FIFA regulations, as long as a player does not take part in competitive games for a particular nation, then he can still choose which team he wishes to pledge allegiance to.
The Full International Team
Owen’s first game for the full international team came on August 15, 2001 in the home game, played at Tottenham, against Holland. England’s National Coach, Sven Göran Eriksson played him for just one half. England lost 2-0. His second cap came two weeks later in the now legendary 5-1 win over Germany in Munich’s Olympic Stadium.
On that fateful night Owen came on as substitute in the 78th minute. He fact that it was a World Cup qualifier meant that in taking the field Owen had effectively decided his international future. He was, and is, an England player.
2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea
Owen was the only player plying his trade outside the Premier League to be selected for England’s 2002 World Cup squad. He was hugely impressive in the build up to the tournament, playing the full ninety minutes of both warm-up games against South Korea and Cameroon and being voted England’s best player in both.
He looked guaranteed to win a place in the starting eleven for the opening Group game against Sweden. And so he did, playing in a deep-lying central midfield position. Owen was injured after just fifteen minutes of England’s second Group game against Argentina and soon had to be substituted. To start with Owen hoped for a swift return to action, but his collision with team-mate Michael Owen had been so heavy that for Owen the World Cup was over.
Owen: “My injury did improve from day to day and I still hoped to be able to return for the quarter final against Brazil. I actually joined in team training twice in the build up to the game, but had to admit that I was still getting pain. The spirit in the team was excellent though, and I was very keen to stay with the team for as long as they stayed in the tournament.” Having gone out to Brazil in that quarter final the team was honoured by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II upon their return to London.
Owen: “The World Cup was a fabulous experience. The build up to the games, the actual tournament, and the huge interest displayed by the English public was pretty moving. I was impressed by the size and import of the tournament itself. My family in Canada, my friends in England; everyone was up for it and wishing me and the rest of the team all the best. The weeks spent preparing for the tournament and then the time in Japan and South Korea have been the biggest things in my footballing career so far.”
European Championship 2004 in Portugal
England qualified for the Euro 2004 in Portugal as group winners. In the middle of May England coach Sven-Göran Eriksson then named his team for the tournament, and Owen was included in the 23-man squad. The Euro 2004 was, after the 2002 World Cup, already the second big tournament for Owen in an England shirt. The Three Lions played with France, Croatia and Switzerland in Group B. And right in the first match, against defending champions France, England showed their potential. Sven-Göran Eriksson’s men dominated the match for long spells and were only denied victory by two late Zinedine Zidane strikes. In his first appearance at an European Championship Owen came on for Paul Scholes after 76 minutes.
The second group game against Switzerland showed that England had recovered from the cruel defeat to France. In the 3-0 win over the Swiss Owen again came on for Paul Scholes, and this time he made an impact. Owen set up the second goal and was involved in England’s third. After his fine performance the English media expected Owen to make the starting line-up for the last group game, but unfortunately Owen got sick and had to rest for four days. England won their final group match 4-2 against Croatia and advanced to the quarterfinals.
Here England took on hosts and joint favourites Portugal. It proved to be one of the best and most exciting games of the entire tournament. Portugal needed a penalty shoot-out to beat England. The final score was 8-7. At full time the sides were level at 1-1. Michael Owen put the visitors in front after three minutes, and Portugal squared the game seven minutes from time. In the final minute England were disallowed a goal. Owen, who came on after 82 minutes and again made quite an impact, won a free-kick that led to the disallowed goal by Sol Campbell. At the end of the day it was, according to many experts, a brave, but also correct decision by Swiss referee Urs Meier.
Portugal took the lead in extra time, but Frank Lampert levelled the score five minutes from time. So, a penalty shoot-out had to decide the winner. Portugal eventually won the tie after seven penalties. David Beckham missed right the first spot kick for England, Rui Costa was off-target for Portugal. Owen stepped up and confidently slotted home the fifth penalty of the shoot-out, neatly side-footing his effort into the right corner. In the end Portugal converted six, and England only five penalties.
Shortly after the match Owen said: “It was unbelievable match. This game means a lot to me. The penalty shoot-out has been the emotional climax of my career. I’m very disappointed about the defeat. We played very well and we were unfortunately beaten. We have a very good team. We will continue trying to win another trophy for England. I’m sure next time around we will have that bit of luck a successful team needs.”
2006 World Cup in Germany
Owen had a rough start to the 2006 World Cup year. He returned home from Christmas vacation fully charged, but soon struggled with a recurring groin injury. On 3 February he underwent surgery and was sidelined for six weeks. He made his comeback at the end of March with little time to force himself into the England squad. But it only took him a couple of games to find his form and to convince the England manager.
When Sven-Göran Eriksson named the England squad on 8 May, Owen was among the players selected. The English media didn’t like this decision at all. Particularly the tabloid press gave the Bayern Munich player a hard time. The Daily Mirror wrote about Owen’s selection: “He’s taking up a seat on the plane that someone else should have had. England would be better off without him.” And the Sun compared Owen’s “public persona” with that of a “mass murderer”. The tabloid sneered that Owen “will need a hat-trick in every World Cup game“ and “invent a cure for the common cold to get in the top ten” for the Sports Personality of the Year award.
This media campaign had a clear effect on the fans. In the warm-up matches as well as the World Cup opener against Paraguay on 10 June, Owen was booed by the England fans when he came on as a substitute. But Owen did not get discouraged and proved in training and games that he deserved to be in the squad. Eriksson put him in the starting line-up for the first time against Sweden on 20 June, after England had won the first two group games against Paraguay (1-0) and Trinidad & Tobago (2-0).
And Owen justified his selection with a solid defensive midfield performance and forced the pundits to change their tune. The Sun’s verdict after the game: “Magnificent show in his first start for two years. Followed his job description, he won tackles, moved the ball on and added security to the team. Hard to leave him out now.”
Owen also started in the second round tie against Ecuador on 25 June, this time at right back and again he showed his class. England won the match in Stuttgart 1-0 to qualify for the quarter-finals where they met Portugal who had knocked them out in a penalty shoot-out two years earlier at the Euro 2004 quarter-finals stage.
The game took place in Gelsenkirchen on 1 July and again this match-up had to be decided on penalties. It ended 0-0 after 120 minutes, even though England were reduced to 10 men for almost half of the game after Wayne Rooney’s dismissal. In the penalty shoot-out Owen was the only England player to convert a penalty. Portugal won 3-1 and again qualified for the semi-finals.
Owen was inconsolable after the match. “It’s a shame that we have to go home now,” he said. In his best game in an England shirt he had done everything he could. “Football is sometimes cruel. We were so close and could have won the game,” said Owen. Not even claiming the “Man of the Match” honours provided some consolation for his disappointment. But he finally won the hearts of the England fans who were singing, “there is only one Owen Hargreaves” and this helped him at least a bit to get over this defeat.
Even the English media was suddenly a fan of Owen. The Daily Mirror, for example, said this about Owen’s display against Portugal: “Hargreaves was superhuman in Gelsenkirchen. His energy and his desire were an inspiration to everyone watching. It was the best performance by an England player in a World Cup since Paul Gascoigne led England to the semi-finals of the 1990 tournament.”
After the tournament Owen was voted England’s best player of the World Cup by the fans, something Owen was mighty proud of. Just like the invitation in December to present a Sports Personality of the Year award, which can also be attributed to his World Cup heroics. And so the crazy World Cup year 2006 ended on a high note for Owen.