Sky Sports' Jon Wilkin believes the Rugby League World Cup format is "fundamentally flawed" after England were left on the brink of their first group-stage exit in the tournament's history.
England sealed a 34-12 victory against Papua New Guinea on Friday but needed to win by a margin of 68 points to give themselves a chance of leapfrogging Samoa in Pool B and C and advancing to the semi-finals on points difference.
Now their hopes rest on Tonga, who face off against Samoa on Sunday. England need Tonga to win by more than 46 points to secure a spot in the knockout stages.
The new tournament structure, which has been downsized from 16 teams to 10, came after Australia stepped in as hosts following France's withdrawal in 2023 for financial reasons.
It has effectively meant that each group game in Pool B and C has carried more jeopardy than before.
"Australia have done a great job to organise a tournament in such a short space of time, but it was fundamentally flawed, unfair in the extreme to the start," Wilkin said.
"The actual competition structure is just diabolical. England were dealt an incredibly difficult task, because they essentially played their quarter-final in week one."
The tournament has two pools, one featuring four teams - Australia, New Zealand, Cook Islands and Fiji - and the other featuring six teams.
England were drawn in the second group, Pool B and C, alongside Tonga, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Lebanon and France.
The top two teams from each group qualify for the knockout rounds, and in the event of a tie, teams are judged on their head-to-head record before points difference.
Brian McDermott's side were beaten in their first match, a 30-12 defeat to Tonga, which put their hopes of qualifying in the balance, despite later thrashing France by 82 points in round two.
"England knew after their loss against Tonga that it was all going to be about points difference, and [qualifying] was going to be incredibly difficult," Wilkin said. "I think the structure and the setup of the competition was done in short notice.
"I think the International Rugby League, who set up this tournament, have done an incredible job to get it on and actually and get in a position where we can have the tournament.
"So, I commend them for that, but I just think the tournament structure is laughable. Like, no quarter-finals? There's a number of ways you could have manufactured or engineered a quarter-finals situation.
"England should be in the quarter-finals, of the World Cup. They had a disappointing 30-40 minutes against Tonga, and they're out."
Wilkin questions England's preparations but backs McDermott
Wilkin backed McDermott to stay on as England head coach, but added he needed a new structure around him while questioning the decision to arrive in Australia just over a week before the tournament.
McDermott revealed earlier in October that the side had taken a convoluted route to reach their Perth base, flying from the north of England to Singapore first and then to Sydney, before travelling to Western Australia.
"England knew they were playing in the World Cup," Wilkin said. "England knew the structure. England knew they needed to win the first game.
"How it is possible to fly your athletes out, economy class, to Singapore, to Sydney, then back to Perth, jet-lagged, and then expect to play against the NRL-standard Tonga team week one and produce a performance is laughable.
"It's a laughable logistical mess that again isn't elite. Nothing elite about it. In any other elite sport it's like, 'no stone unturned', and I just don't think England had that going into this World Cup.
"I think McDermott is an exceptional coach. I'd give him more time, but there needs to be some management and structure behind him to those things right.
"You know, those things really matter, and a jet-lagged team going into play a Tongan team who are rife with stars was fundamentally where it went wrong."
