Английн шигшээ баг ДАШТ-ий шөвгийн наймд Норвегитой Майамид тулахад хамгаалагч Дэн Бёрн гол үүрэг гүйцэтгэх төлөвтэй байна. Өдгөө 34 настай, 201 см өндөр Бёрн Мексикийн эсрэг сэлгээнээс талбайд гарч, зургаан удаа бөмбөг аюулгүй болгосноор Английн хамгаалалтын найдвартай багана гэдгээ баталсан юм.
Эрлинг Холанд энэ удаагийн ДАШТ-д Норвегийн нийт гоолын тал хувийг оруулж, долоон гоолтойгоор мэргэн буучдын жагсаалтын хоёрдугаар байрт бичигдэж байна. Гэвч түүнийг клубүүдийн түвшинд Бёрн шиг амжилттай хазаарласан хамгаалагч ховор. Бёрн Манчестер Ситигийн эсрэг найман удаа гарааны бүрэлдэхүүнд багтахдаа Холандыг ердөө нэг гоол оруулах боломж олгосон нь Премьер лигийн багууд дундах хамгийн шилдэг үзүүлэлт юм.
Дасгалжуулагч Томас Тухель өмнөх гурван тоглолтод Марк Гэхиг гараанд гаргасан ч тэрээр өмнө нь Холандыг зогсоож чадалгүй олон гоол алдаж байсан туршлагатай. Бёрн өндөр бие бялдар болон биеийн хүчний тулаанд орох чадвараараа Холандын хөдөлгөөнийг удаашруулж, дамжуулалтын замыг хаах тал дээр илүү үр дүнтэй хувилбар гэж үзэж байна.
Английн хамгаалалтын шугамд Жаррелл Куанса торгуультай, Рис Жеймс болон Жед Спенс нарын бэлтгэл хангалтгүй байгаа нь Бёрныг гараанд гарах магадлалыг улам өсгөж байна. Хэрэв Тухель түүнийг сонговол Бёрн Английн хамгаалалтын гол хүн болж, Холандыг хянах хүндхэн даалгаврыг гүйцэтгэх болно.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
Erling Haaland has scored more than half of Norway’s goals at this World Cup, and no defence has silenced him.
He is Norway’s man to stop — so after frequently nullifying him at club level, could England’s 6ft 7in 34-year-old be the answer for Thomas Tuchel in their quarter-final?
In his first appearance of the tournament against Mexico, Dan Burn endeared himself to England fans with a substitute appearance to savour. He made a joint game-high six clearances, including taking a Raul Jimenez overhead-kick attempt to the head as the 10 men held on to win 3-2.
England’s defensive task becomes even more difficult in the last eight as they face Norway and Haaland in Miami. The Manchester City striker is joint second in the Golden Boot race with seven goals alongside Kylian Mbappe and leader Lionel Messi (eight) after the round of 16. Haaland has scored his tally in a game fewer, as he was rested for Norway’s final group game.
Newcastle United defender Burn is now the tallest outfield player remaining at the World Cup, and history suggests he could be the answer to silencing Norway’s talisman.
The track record: Burn vs Haaland
Haaland has made 10 appearances for City against Newcastle, eight of those when Burn has started, only scoring once — his worst record against a Premier League side he has faced five times or more.
In half of the games, Burn was playing left back and was not directly matched up against the striker. Newcastle have also lost six out of the eight games when Burn and Haaland have featured against each other, with two draws.
But it is still fair to say his goal-scoring output was nullified, so how does Burn defend Haaland?
Burn is hands-on with Haaland and, at his height, is one of the few people who can combat the 6ft 5in star. This helps slow Haaland down and makes it trickier for him to turn on the ball.
In the aftermath of their meeting in February this year, Haaland posted a photo on his social media of Burn pulling his shirt and captioned it, ‘Another day at the office’.
Another day at the office pic.twitter.com/xrT9PdNYJp
— Erling Haaland (@ErlingHaaland) February 21, 2026
Still, Burn isn’t able to completely overpower him. In the image below, he tried to shoulder-barge Haaland while he was receiving the ball but ended up on the deck.
Being the respective enforcers for their club teams, they have clashed, including in a league match in March 2023 when Burn fouled Jack Grealish and had some words before Haaland steamed over.
While Burn is unlikely to lose out to Haaland regularly in duels or aerial battles, he is more susceptible to being beaten with quick movement and a straight race. This was evident in the one goal Haaland has scored against Newcastle.
Haaland pulls away from Burn before racing in to beat him to a cutback across goal.
The goal shows Haaland’s movement can outfox any defender. He meets crosses, like his first goal against Brazil in the round of 16 when he powerfully headed home, and his constant astute movement around the box and pace to run in behind makes him one of the best No 9s football has seen in modern times.
Of Burn’s eight appearances against Haaland’s City, six of them have been at the Etihad. This suggests Burn is seen as more effective when his side is expected to have less possession and endure pressure, the same situation in which he excelled against Mexico.
Norway have the quality to dominate the ball, keeping 66 per cent possession against Brazil, and the firepower to create lots of chances.
Tuchel’s options
Tuchel may worry that Haaland has had considerably more joy against his now-Manchester City team-mate Marc Guehi, who has started over Burn and John Stones at left centre-back in the last three games.
Guehi played against Haaland five times during his spell at Crystal Palace, and there was only one winner in those meetings.
Haaland scored in every league match he started against Guehi, including a hat-trick in their first meeting in 2022. The only time he was silenced was in the 2025 FA Cup final, which Palace won 1-0.
He scored two penalties and benefited from attacks on Palace’s right, the opposite to where Guehi played, but two of the goals were direct aerial match-ups between the pair.
Haaland’s two headers against Palace in their 2-2 draw in 2025 and 4-2 win in 2022 showed Guehi failing to track the movement, Haaland bustling ahead of him to nod home on both occasions.
While Guehi is a more experienced starter, Burn could be better suited to disrupt Haaland.
England defender’s record vs Haaland
| Opponent | Matches (started) | Haaland goals |
|---|---|---|
|
5 |
7 |
|
|
8 |
1 |
|
|
5 |
1 |
|
|
2 |
0 |
|
|
3 |
1 |
He would be partnered by Ezri Konsa or Stones, alongside the likely selections of left-back Nico O’Reilly and midfielder Elliot Anderson, providing Burn easy passing lanes to release the ball, the clear element of the game that Guehi excels at.
Should Burn start?
While Burn adapted well to being thrown in at the Estadio Azteca, it would be a big ask for his first major tournament start to be in a World Cup quarter-final.
Tuchel has always liked Burn, who had appeared as many times as Stones and more than Guehi under his management before the tournament, so the trust is there.
With Reece James and Djed Spence’s fitness in doubt and Jarell Quansah suspended, Konsa may be needed at right back, which only adds to Burn’s claims.
Stones, who was Haaland’s team-mate for four years at City, has not started since the opener against Croatia, and picking him or Guehi would be a statement to Norway that England plan to be the protagonists.
But it is Burn’s attributes and track record that appear better suited to stifle Norway’s overwhelming threat.
