Dan Burn's fairytale World Cup story continued on Saturday when he came on as a substitute to help England see out their 2-1 win over Norway in Miami. The Three Lions needed extra-time to see off Stale Solbakken's side at the home of the Miami Dolphins as a brace from Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham helped Thomas Tuchel's side book their place in Wednesday's semi-final against Argentina.
Burn's Impact in the Knockout Stages
For the second match in succession, Burn was brought on from the bench to shore up England's defence and help see out an important win. His thunderous header clear, which saw him win the ball and clear out Norway's Fredrik Aursnes in the process, drew a cheer from the crowd that was as loud as Bellingham's goals.
Burn has become a cult hero for his country at this tournament, and his heroics in North America are the latest signposts on his fairytale story. It has taken him from the trolleys at Asda to playing in the Champions League, scoring in a cup final with his boyhood club Newcastle, and winning his 10th cap for his country on the biggest of global stages.
Pre-Season Return Date Confirmed
England advancing to the semi-finals is also instructive of when the 34-year-old will return for pre-season training at Newcastle ahead of the 2026/27 season. Newcastle's first team returned to pre-season on Monday and know they have pre-season matches against Darlington, Gateshead, Bristol City, Valencia, Everton, Bayer Leverkusen and Strasbourg before their Premier League opener against Liverpool on Sunday, August 23.
Head coach Eddie Howe had previously confirmed that any Newcastle player who featured in the World Cup would get 'roughly three weeks' off before returning to Tyneside for pre-season action. "It is an interesting one because it will be different with the World Cup," Howe told reporters back in May. "We plan to come back around the 13th of July which is a week longer than normal because of the World Cup. We will go away to Spain in La Manga for around 10 days so there will be no huge long flight for the players this time in line with the World Cup. With the travel those players will do we are trying to keep things really simple because we have to make sure the players are in the best physical condition. The World Cup players will get roughly around three weeks off, depending on when they exit the competition."
Burn the Last Newcastle Player Standing
Burn is the last Newcastle player standing at the World Cup. While the likes of Nick Woltemade, Malick Thiaw, Anthony Elanga, Yoane Wissa, Bruno Guimaraes and Bazoumana Toure will also meet up with the squad later, Burn will be the final player to join his club team-mates ahead of the new campaign. Working off Howe's comments, we now know Burn will be back in pre-season training on Monday, August 10, meaning he will miss the warm weather training camp in La Manga.
Even if England lose to Argentina in the semi-finals, they will remain in the USA to face the loser of the other semi-final between France and Spain in Miami on Saturday evening. Should they win, the Three Lions will face the winner of that tie in New York in Sunday's final. It means he will have just two weeks with his team-mates ahead of the new campaign, but he will be available for the games against Everton and the St James' Park double header against Bayer Leverkusen and Strasbourg.
