Michael Owen admits he still 'resents' two ex-England teammates years after playing with them

Michael Owen revealed that two of his former England teammates left him resentful more than 25 years later.

Liverpool and Manchester United legend Owen broke into the England senior team very early in his career, making his international debut at the age of 18.

He became his country's youngest World Cup goalscorer in 1998 and went on to clock up 40 goals in 89 national team appearances.

His spectacular solo effort against Argentina in the second round at his debut World Cup in 1998 was one of the finest major tournament goals ever scored by an England player but the match left him with bitter regrets and two stinging grudges that have persisted throughout his adult life and long into his football retirement.

England lost that game in a penalty shoot-out and Owen admitted he felt aggrieved.

Midfielders David Batty and Paul Ince failed to score from the penalty spot but there was an infamous incident early in the second half that rankles most with the former Real Madrid striker.

Along with Ince's miss, Owen recalled the red card that was shown to teammate David Beckham for kicking out at Argentina's Diego Simeone. England played almost all of the second half and then extra time with ten men.

Owen told William Hill's Up Front with Simon Jordan podcast: "Firstly, I don't believe David Beckham's kick out at Diego Simeone should've been a red card, but that is irrelevant. He made a mistake and that is where my resentment lies.

"For a lot of players you only get one shot at a World Cup, and he made a big mistake – he would admit that. You could say that it contributed to us being knocked out and that is a big thing.

"You can resent a lot of things if you use that word, and I do resent a lot of things. Paul Ince missed a penalty and I resent him choosing to shoot the ball one way instead of the other, in the same way, I resent Beckham making the decision to kick out at Simeone.

David Beckham and Michael Owen both played for Real Madrid (Image: Getty)

"I resent his actions for all manner of reasons. It was a mistake that only he made and it makes you think that if he hadn't done it, we could have beaten Argentina.

"I'm absolutely convinced that we would've beaten them with 11 men because we were the better team. We had an unbelievable team so of course I think to myself what could have been."

Beckham was subjected to months of abuse after the World Cup in 1998 but transformed himself into a national treasure and beloved England captain.

Owen's England career was affected by injury. He played at two European Championships and two more World Cups but a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ended his World Cup in 2006 and hampered him for the rest of his career.