To say Dan Burn has had a good last week would be something of an understatement.
The Newcastle United centre-back was handed his first England call-up on Friday, when new Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel – ranked at no.10 in FourFourTwo’s list of the best managers in the world last year – included the 32-year-old in his squad to face Albania and Latvia this month.
This announcement came as Burn was gearing up for one of the biggest games of his career, with Newcastle preparing to face Liverpool in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final – and the boy from Blyth delivered the good, scoring the opener as the Magpies ended their 70-year wait for a domestic trophy by seeing off the Reds 2-1 at Wembley.
Alan Shearer’s reaction to Dan Burn’s call-up
Burn has already linked up with the Three Lions squad after this maiden call-up as he hopes to add his international debut to an incredible list of achievements this month.
One of Burn’s biggest cheerleaders in the media is former Newcastle striker Alan Shearer, who was quick to praise Tuchel’s decision to include the former Darlington, Fulham and Brighton star.
“Big Dan Burn was a surprise call up from Tuchel. Having said that, it is thoroughly deserved,” Shearer told Betfair. “He was at my foundation ball last Saturday and was drinking water all night because he had to leave early for the game on Monday.
“I actually said to the whole room that he’s been one of Newcastle’s best players this season. But I don’t think anyone thought he’d be in the England squad.”
Shearer also reflected on the rest of Tuchel’s squad, including the inclusion of 34-year-old Jordan Henderson, who has not featured for the Three Lions since November 2023.
“Jordan Henderson’s return is a bit leftfield,” Shearer added. “That’s an interesting one. I think Jarell Quansah has got great potential. Maybe Tuchel is getting him in there for the experience because he hasn’t played that much football.
“These are two games, for England in March, that aren’t too exciting on the eye in terms of opponents Latvia and Albania, but that doesn’t matter to Tuchel. He’s got to get his squad together and England’s quest to win the World Cup starts now basically.”
England will also face Serbia and Andorra in their qualifying group, where the winner will qualify for next summer’s tournament in North America automatically and second place advancing to a play-off.
