Burn relishes Haaland duel as England target improvement for Norway quarter-final

Dan Burn has urged England to raise their game considerably ahead of their World Cup quarter-final against Norway in Miami, insisting the 3-2 victory over Mexico at the Estadio Azteca will count for nothing if Thomas Tuchel’s side cannot match it with a sharper display against the tournament’s standout surprise package.

Burn came off the bench to help a 10-man England — reduced after Jarell Quansah’s red card — hold on against Mexico, but the Newcastle United defender is under no illusions about the step up required. Norway arrive in the last eight having beaten Brazil 2-1, and Burn told talkSPORT he was not surprised by their progress.

“I saw how well they did in qualification. They had a tough group with Italy in it and topped that, and scored however many goals, so it doesn’t surprise us that they’re doing well, even beating Brazil,” Burn said. “When you’ve got players like Haaland and Odegaard, and people that can affect the game, it doesn’t surprise us that they’re at this stage.”

Erling Haaland is the central concern for England’s defence. The Manchester City striker scored a brace against Brazil and has netted seven goals this summer, leaving him just one behind Golden Boot leader Lionel Messi. Burn, however, has a relatively encouraging personal record against the Norwegian, having conceded only once in their previous meetings.

“I don’t want to jinx it,” Burn said with a laugh. “But, yeah, one goal. I do enjoy playing against Erling purely from a physical point of view. I quite like that sort of physical battle, and I get on well with him on the pitch.”

The 37-year-old made clear he is ready to take on that responsibility if called upon. “If I’m asked to do that, I’ll be more than ready and more than happy to do that,” he said, though he acknowledged England have several other centre-back options competing for the role.

Tuchel addressed the squad on Wednesday morning, drawing a line under the Mexico result. “The manager said ‘Mexico is done now’,” Burn recalled. “We’ve sat and taken the praise for it, but it means nothing really if we don’t beat Norway. Now it’s focusing on that. With Erling, he only needs one touch in the box to score, so everyone’s going to have to be on it.”

The absence of altitude — a factor at the Azteca — will be replaced by the Miami heat, and Burn acknowledged the conditions will demand a different kind of resilience as England bid to reach the semi-finals.