Owen insists England's players would've fulfilled their potential if Glenn Hoddle had remained in charge for longer.
"I'll go to my grave wondering what would happen if we played a different system," he told talkSPORT.
"If we had played like a 3-5-2 or something then I mean I'm convinced we would have won something, but you know Scholes, Lampard, Gerrard as a three in midfield. We used to kill them.
"We used to basically play two of them when everyone else was playing three or even four sometimes and then we always used to say they can’t play together.
"Well, no wonder they're playing against about five Spanish lads that are all running around.
"We were so old-fashioned in the way we were playing. But those three players, listen if you were playing against a top team you could bring David Beckham into the you know inside a little bit.
"If you're playing against a lesser team then play him as the right side.
"Ashley Cole is the best left-back or best wing-back in the world at the time. You know the likes of myself and Wayne Rooney up front.
"You know I think we were (the Golden Generation). There wouldn't be many put it this way that get in the team from this generation."
Owen also said: "I would have changed the formation. And if you look at England over the years we've been so good with playing a back three.
"I mean back to when I first remember football, let's say under Terry Venables. We had Euro 96. We played 3-5-2 in that tournament. We were brilliant. Then Glenn Hoddle took over.
"We had a really good team again playing that formation and then we went back to 4-4-2 with Sven (Goran Eriksson) and with (Fabio) Capello and managers like that we're playing very rigid 4-4-2.
"Then we've you know we've trialled a little bit in recent tournaments with the three again. I've always thought that England for some reason, we suit that."