England's Anthony Gordon, the Barcelona star, said that controlling matches is not part of the English "genes", but the Three Lions can win major tournaments if they stop "trying to copy Spain".
Gordon spoke at St George's Park as England prepare to face world champions Spain in the UEFA Nations League next Saturday, their first match together since the World Cup.
The Three Lions lost their semi-final 2-1 to Argentina, then beat France 6-4 in the bronze medal match.
That big win to close the tournament handed England their best World Cup result since 1966.
Yet many criticised the manner of the defeat to Argentina, after coach Thomas Tuchel substituted goalscorer Gordon and switched to a defensive plan with five at the back.
The change piled on the pressure. Enzo Fernandez levelled before Lautaro Martinez struck the winner in stoppage time.
Gordon said he "had never felt so bad" after the match, and believes the scar left by the defeat could push England to take a different approach at the next tournament.
Speaking to the "BBC", the Barcelona star said: "The scar does not have to be negative, because it could lead us to victory in the coming tournaments."
He continued: "We cannot keep looking at other countries and trying to be like them, because we are not like them. We are English and we have our own strengths that they do not have, so perhaps we should start playing the way we are good at."
Gordon joined Barcelona from Newcastle for 69.3 million pounds in the summer.
Playing in the Spanish league, alongside and against some of Spain's finest, made the England winger realise how different the country's approach to football really is.
He is not convinced English players can be taught to play the possession-heavy, complex game the Spanish thrive on.
Gordon added: "I speak from a point of view where I feel we are trying to copy Spain."
He continued: "Because I am in Spain, I know we have players just as good, but they have different qualities, so why are you trying to make these players like Spanish players? Because Spanish players lack the things we have, and vice versa."
"This is not part of the English genes," Gordon said. "I am not sure it is something that can be taught, because now I believe, through playing in Spain, that I can speak with an informed opinion about the way they keep the ball, it is different."
He concluded: "Sometimes I even look at some of the decisions they make about the ball and I think, I am not sure how I saw that, it is the way they build it up. I do not know if this is something we can never name, but it is definitely built differently."
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