Dan Burn has revealed he texted Leo Ostigard after leaving the Norway defender in a heap during England's World Cup quarter-final victory in Miami. The Newcastle centre-back overpowered his former Brighton team-mate in a late aerial duel before stepping over him and revving up the crowd. Once the adrenaline subsided, the humble 34-year-old started to feel bad about the incident.
Burn's Apology to Ostigard
Burn explained: 'I was in a bit of my own world, to be honest. I've seen the video back and I used to play with Leo, the guy who I end up clattering with the header. I didn't really know what I'd done in the moment. I watched back and I thought, 'Oh, it's not great,' so I texted Leo after and just said, 'Mate, I didn't mean to be disrespectful. I was just like fired up,' and he was like, 'Yeah, I get that, it's no problem.''
Cult Hero Status and Social Media
Burn has quickly assumed cult hero status within the England squad after back-to-back impressive cameos helped seal their World Cup semi-final berth. He is rapidly approaching 500,000 Instagram followers, though he remains humble about his newfound fame. 'No, not really. I'm not massive on [using] social media, so I don't see loads of it, but I've had lots of people sending us different videos,' Burn said. 'For me, it's just trying to help the lads out as much as possible, and trying to make an impact on the pitch.'
Looking Ahead to Argentina
Burn will hope to have another massive impact against Argentina in the semi-final, the opponents when he first remembers falling in love with football. He was perched at a Florida bar watching David Beckham blast home the winning penalty against Argentina in the 2002 World Cup. Now, Beckham is in awe of Burn's heroic contributions at this tournament. Burn reflected: 'I was 10. I know exactly where I was, I was in a bar called the Cricketers Arms in Orlando because we were on holiday, and it must have been on quite late because I think it was just me and my dad. So my dad used to take us to the pub and I remember when the penalty went in, just like the roar from inside. I think that was the sort of time when I fell in love with football.'
