Dan Burn's impressive cameo in England's World Cup win over Mexico could be rewarded with a starting role when Thomas Tuchel's men take on Norway in Saturday night's quarter-final clash. The Newcastle United star is on standby to replace Marc Guehi in the starting XI in Miami, with the Manchester City defender missing training with a hamstring problem.
Guehi's Fitness in Doubt
Guehi has not been ruled out at this stage, but will need to prove his fitness in training ahead of the game as head coach Tuchel faces a big decision. If he is unable to train on Friday, the German must decide who will replace him in the side, with Burn leading the list of potential candidates after a superb second-half performance at the Azteca Stadium.
John Stones is an option but prefers the right-hand side of the central defensive partnership, and Burn can step into Guehi's shoes should he be ruled out. Chelsea's Trevoh Chalobah is also an option, but Burn's heroic showing against Mexico is likely to put him at the top of the queue, with Jarell Quansah suspended.
Stopping Haaland
While England are favourites to beat Norway and book a place in the semi-finals against either Argentina or Switzerland, they are well aware of the need to stop Erling Haaland on Saturday night. The Man City striker has been in formidable form in the World Cup, scoring seven goals in his four appearances to date, although Burn boasts an impressive record against the striker at club level.
Haaland has only scored once against Newcastle in 10 games, something which Burn is understandably proud of. "I don't want to jinx it, but yeah, one goal," the Blyth-born defender said ahead of this weekend's showdown. "I do enjoy playing against Erling, purely just from a physical point of view. I quite like that sort of physical battle and I get on well with him on the pitch. We do get on quite well, although you'd have to ask him if he thinks the same thing."
"If I'm asked to do that, I'd be more than ready and more than happy to do that. But obviously I also know that we've got four other centre-halves who are also top quality players and have played this whole tournament because of that too."
