Newcastle United star Dan Burn made his second appearance for England in their World Cup qualifier against Andorra on Saturday evening.
Newcastle United defender Burn made his Three Lions debut in March and won his second cap against the minnows, during what was a laboured performance from Thomas Tuchel’s side.
Tuchel has been impressed by Burn, who played every minute of the game. Teammate Anthony Gordon came off the bench towards the closing stages.
Harry Kane scored the only goal of the game just after the break, with England booed off at half-time having struggled to break Andorra down during an arduous first-half.
Here’s how the national media rated Burn’s performance.
Photo by Joan Valls/Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Photo by Joan Valls/Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The Sun gave Burn a rating of 4/10, claiming it was now “obvious” that Tuchel “loves” the defender. They said: “It is now obvious that Tuchel loves the Newcastle defender and he has got a very good chance of going to the World Cup, but some of his passing was dreadful.”
Meanwhile, talkSPORT were slightly more cutting, handing the defender a 3/10 and writing: “Centre-back pairing Ezri Konsa and Dan Burn also both failed, with the former ‘not doing enough’ as he had so much of the ball, while the latter was told in no uncertain terms: “Giving the ball away cheaply against Andorra is not an option.”
The Daily Mail rated the 33-year-old as a 6/10, saying: “Probably spent as much of this match in the opposition’s half as his own as he hardly had any defending to do. At least it’s a fairly nice view when standing 6ft 7in tall.”
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Dan Burn’s stats for England vs Andorra
There’s not a huge amount to take from England beating Andorra. Given the difference in resources, winning 1-0 is hardly a success, but it would have been a shock not to see them win.
It’s not a great result, but by the time the World Cup rolls around next summer, few will be speaking about it if England go deep.
Per WhoScored data, Burn had the most touches of any England player (132). He also won the most aerial duels (4), while completing the joint-most tackles (3) and interceptions (1).
Stat Number Team rank
Touches 132 1st
Tackles 3 =1st
Interceptions 1 =1st
Aerial duels won 4 1st
Dan Burn’s stats for England against Andorra, data via WhoScored
Granted, he wasn’t up against a huge amount of genuine quality but it’s clear he played a big role in what was only his second game.
England should have won by a bigger margin, but the players are coming off a long season.
Burn, at least, played his part.