England legend Terry Butcher has warned Thomas Tuchel not to go into Euro 2028 without Newcastle United captain Dan Burn, insisting that he is the type of character who would shed blood for the Three Lions.
That is a considerable compliment from a man who saw his England shirt turn from white to red in 90 minutes during a never-to-be-forgotten battle in Sweden to get England to Italia 90.
Burn's Reprieve and Role
Burn was left out of the original squad for UEFA Nations League games against Croatia and Spain, but won a reprieve after Marc Guehi was withdrawn from the action with a hip injury. Butcher, who once led his country through a crucial World Cup qualifier in Stockholm against Sweden in a blood-soaked England shirt, reckons that 6ft 7in Blyth battler Burn is a modern equivalent of himself.
Indeed, when England needed somebody to put their body on the line in crucial World Cup knockout games against Mexico and Norway, Burn was called upon by Tuchel and did the job. Now Butcher believes Burn can be the man for the occasion at Wembley and in Madrid at the weekend as England look to push in in the Nations League.
Butcher's Praise for Burn
Butcher, speaking in a new book about Bobby Robson's England Almost Immortal, told Chronicle Live: "Dan Burn is my hero - I love him to bits actually, he's brilliant."
"I admire him because he will play out of position, or step in when called upon on. I had to play out of position at times in my career so I know what it's like. So what if he plays at left-back sometimes and he's 6ft 7in, it doesn't matter what size your are or what pace you've got, your brain is the main thing."
"He's got the brain of an England player and that's what can win games, he gets through things and he sees things, he can read situations well."
And Butcher quipped that Burn just needs to join him by wearing a blood-soaked bandage, just like he did in 1989. Butcher said: "Burn is a brilliant character to have in there; the only thing he needs now is to wear a bandage on his head and wear a blood-soaked shirt!"
Nations League Stakes
England need just a point from their Nations League games this month to secure a place in the knockout stages next summer, in a less intense scenario to what Robson's class of 1989 needed to reach Italia 90. It's 37 years ago since Butcher's heroics got England over the line in Stockholm, and at the launch of his new book, Butcher reflected on the pictures of him bloodied and bruised and said: "You know people still come up to me and ask me if it still hurts 37 years on!"
"I just wish I had image rights for the pictures that were sold around the world, because I'd be a quite wealthy man, I think! If you ask AI how much it thinks it's worth, they estimate it's quite a valuable shirt. It's obviously been washed, but yeah."
"Everybody asks me, if I've still got the bandage or if it hurts, but I say no I had the stitches and it's gone now. I actually went through two shirts that night, one we sold for charity - made a good bit of money for the charity. And the other one is in the Scottish Football Museum at Hampden Park on loan."
Benchmark for England
Butcher feels that his performance against Sweden and subsequent displays at Italia 90, as England got all the way to the semi-finals in Turin but lost on penalties under Sir Bobby, should be the benchmark for his country.
The ex-Ipswich and Rangers star said: "I was on an enormous amount of adrenaline in Sweden that night. But I was just literally doing my job. It didn't hurt me when I headed the ball away, because they kept putting crosses in the box and I kept heading it away."
"There was a squelchy sound and all this sort of thing, you know? The ball was sticky, my clothes were sticky as well, and I think everybody had a bit of my blood on their shirt, shorts, socks, or whatever. I think even the referee had some blood on him!"
"It was surreal in many respects, but nicely surreal. It was like a nice feeling where we didn't lose the game. That was my focus: we don't lose the game. Do everything to make sure you don't concede... and we didn't concede."
Learning from Recent Defeats
Butcher has respect for the current crop of England stars after near misses at World Cup 2018, Euro 2020, Euro 2024 and last summer in the US when a cruel 2-1 defeat to Argentina ended hopes of getting to the pinnacle.
But with those goals from Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez still haunting England players after losing a 1-0 lead in Atlanta, Butcher urged England to use it as inspiration. The former England star said: "Well, you use that defeat. It's the bad times and hard times that make you mentally stronger. You've all got to be together and make sure you're mentally strong"
"How do you get mentally strong? Just by repetition, by speaking, by being with the group, setting out your aims and ambitions."
"Train under adversity on the pitch - how do you defend when the opponent has superior numbers? It forms strength and a bond between you. The 'they shall not pass' mentality - that's what we had with Bobby in particular."
"You look at Argentina; their strength is a mental strength, but also a physical strength as well."
"Nice teams don't win World Cups; they don't win trophies. You've got to have grit, passion, and determination, but also be sensible, have peace of mind, and coolness. When it gets tough, you rally around and don't make stupid decisions"
"So, yeah, I think we can do it, and I think it's only a matter of time now. It's like going up a mountain and getting up Hillary Step on Everest, planting that Cross of St George on top of Everest. I think that's a pretty apt description."
