- Newcastle United star hopes for World Cup debut
- Dan Burn tipped to pose goal threat for England
- Sol Campbell on what Magpies man can offer Thomas Tuchel
Newcastle United defender Dan Burn has been tipped to cause ‘pandemonium’ for England at the World Cup this summer by former Three Lions man Sol Campbell.
The 34-year-old was somewhat of a surprise inclusion in Thomas Tuchel’s squad for the competition, with the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Magpies teammate Lewis Hall not handed a place on the plane to the USA.
Burn has been an ever-present in the England set-up since making his Three Lions debut in March 2025 at the age of 32.
Dan Burn tipped to score first England goal
While the versatile defender has never been the first name in the starting XI, he has been handed regular minutes and clearly impressed Tuchel.
England begin their World Cup campaign against Croatia on Wednesday night and former England defender Campbell has tipped Burn to have a big impact for Tuchel.
Speaking to The Chronicle, the former Arsenal man explained how Burn could be primarily used as a goal threat, despite playing in the back four.
Burn famously scored a vital header against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final last year but is yet to find the back of the net in an England shirt.
Campbell said: “Dan Burn could cause pandemonium in the box and a lot of top teams at the World Cup won’t know how to deal with that. I could easily see Dan Burn scoring an important goal from a set-play or corner.
“If you look carefully at most of the top countries, a lot of the players can’t head the ball – they just can’t do it.
“I’d say a lot of English teams and English guys, they can’t head the ball. In the Premier League, there are various players who come in from all over the world, they can’t handle it.
“It is something that has been really overlooked by top teams. Look at statistics – 50% of goals are scored from set-plays, corners or spot-kicks. So if you have somebody like Burn who can come on for 15 or 20 minutes, and you get two or three dangerous free-kicks and you get players like Burn who can attack things, people get frightened.”
Newcastle United man picked over Manchester United star Harry Maguire
Burn scored two goals for Newcastle United last season. The player netted in a 2-0 Champions League win over Athletic Bilbao and in the 3-1 win over Brighton last month.
The full-back also picked up six assists, with a total of eight goal contributions from defence for Eddie Howe’s side.
The player’s inclusion at the World Cup also came at the expense of Manchester United man Harry Maguire, who had enjoyed an impressive season at Old Trafford.
Burn can perhaps offer Tuchel more versatility thanks to his ability to play at both centre-back and full-back. Campbell went on to admit that it would not have made sense to have both big defenders in the squad.
He said: “I think Tuchel has looked at it and thought ‘Harry Maguire or Dan Burn?’, and probably thought I don’t need them both, I’ll choose Burn.
“Burn can just go on and play. He’s had a decent 12 months, and he is in the moment. There are no negatives or minuses around him; he is in that great moment, so let that motion and continuation of quality go on.”
After facing Croatia, England take on Ghana and Panama in Group L as the nation looks to book a place in the knockout rounds.
In other news, Victor Munoz exit route emerges even before signing for Newcastle United.
