Gary Thompson Criticizes Lack of Game Time for Ollie Watkins in World Cup Semi-Final
Former Aston Villa striker Gary Thompson has voiced his disappointment over Ollie Watkins not receiving any playing time during England’s World Cup semi-final defeat by Argentina on Wednesday.
Watkins only played six minutes during the tournament, stepping on as a late substitute in the final group match against Panama, and was not called upon by Thomas Tuchel when the Three Lions were in need of a goal in Atlanta.
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Instead, the German coach opted to introduce three defenders while the score was 1-0, and brought on Ivan Toney and Marcus Rashford after Argentina had taken a 2-1 lead.
“I’m disappointed for Ollie because he never got a sniff at all,” Thompson told BBC Radio WM.
“I kept thinking, especially when we needed to stretch the play in the second half, we needed someone like him to send the ball to in attack.
“With a couple of minutes to go when I saw Ivan Toney lining up, I thought: ‘What’s that all about?’
“I feel sorry for Ollie, but he did have a great end to the season and I am looking forward to seeing him next season for Villa.”
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Villa teammate Morgan Rogers did start in the semi-final match and assisted England’s goal, while Ezri Konsa was left on the bench.
“Rogers showed a lot of intelligence and ability on the right-hand side and put in a lovely cross for the goal for Anthony Gordon,” Thompson added.
“Hopefully he will still be at Villa next season because there are a lot of rumors.
“The Villa players held their own and did all right. I felt bad for Konsa being left out but these things happen. You just have to suck these things up and carry on.”