Dan Burn made his World Cup finals debut as England claimed a 3-2 win against Mexico to set up a quarter-final clash with Norway.

Newcastle United star Dan Burn has revealed his pride at marking his World Cup finals debut by helping England secure a place in the quarter-finals with a historic win against Mexico.

The Magpies defender has watched on from the sidelines as Thomas Tuchel’s men battled through the group stage of the tournament before progressing into the last 16 with a scrappy win against a DR Congo side containing his United team-mate, Yoane Wissa.

However, Burn belatedly made his bow at the tournament as he came off the bench for what would be the final 25 minutes as a ten-man England side produced a display full of resilience, determination and organisation to earn a 3-2 win against Mexico in front of a partisan crowd of over 100,000 at the iconic Azteca Stadium.

For Burn, the appearance marks the latest step in his remarkable journey from featuring for Blyth Town and Blyth Spartans Juniors and becoming a non-league player with Darlington to playing at the World Cup finals with his country. The journey was not lost on Burn as he reflected on an eventful night.

Speaking after the game, the Magpies defender said: “I don’t know if we had planned for this scenario - but I knew that I was being brought here for a certain reason. I wasn’t going to start but there would be opportunities in the game where we need to see a game out or go for a goal that I was going to get it. I have been desperate to get on the pitch, I didn’t want to leave the World Cup without getting on there. I am very proud to play for England at a World Cup, I never thought I’d be saying that.”

When asked what Tuchel asked of him before he came on, he said: “What he expected from me, knowing my height, knowing how I defend, it’s blocking shots, blocking crosses, it was really trying to grind it out and I think that shows the character in the team.”

‘History’

England’s Jude Bellingham (left), Anthony Gordon and Morgan Rogers (right) celebrate (Nick Potts/PA)

Two goals from Jude Bellingham and a penalty from Harry Kane saw England into a quarter-final clash with Norway - but that only tells half of the story in a game full of debatable decisions, VAR calls, penalties and chances aplenty. Burn insisted England were ‘a little bit of an underdog’ going into the game - and is adamant the night will ‘go down in history’.

He said: “I don’t think I’ll ever forget that night. I think the stadium, the occasion, playing against Mexico, listening to the Mexican national anthem with 100,000 people, it was surreal. A crazy game so just really, really proud of the lads. We knew it was going to be a challenge, we were sort of a little bit of the underdog, we rose to the challenge and we are delighted to get through.

“We have shown we can win in lots of different ways. I think that sums up the character of the team, that’s something we’ve been building for best part of a year-and-a-half to two years now. I think that came to the fore today. To a man, everyone was excellent, there were people dead on their feet at the end there. Lots of decisions went either way. I think it was a World Cup match that will go down in history.”

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