Dan Burn is no stranger to scoring in big games having helped Newcastle end their trophy drought in the Carabao Cup final – and now wants to go one better

Dan Burn dreams of being a cup final hero for England – just as he was for Newcastle. The popular defender opened the scoring with a towering header at Wembley as United beat Liverpool 2-1 last year.

It helped the team he had supported since childhood win the Carabao Cup, their first trophy in 70 years. Now he has a dream of scoring the winner in the World Cup final to end 60 years of hurt for England.

Geordie-born Burn was told by manager Thomas Tuchel that he would not be in the starting 11 for the tournament. But that does not stop him dreaming.

He went to a country and western gig with Harry Kane on Friday night, wearing new cowboy boots, a cowboy hat and jeans. He visualizes scoring in a World Cup final, just as Kane dreams of raising the trophy for England.

“Obviously, I want to play and I would love to start,” he said. “But I also know that there could be a game where we’re one nil up and where we need me to come on and see a game out.

“Or I might come on if we are chasing the game and need a goal. We’ve been working on all different scenarios. At the end of training we are trying to prepare for those moments, even just like sort of visualising moments when you’ve come on.

“I’ve been lucky in the finals that I’ve played in or in big games, I have managed to score some big goals. That leads to confidence, knowing that I can if that’s what I’m asked to do. I’ve got the ability and confidence to do that.”

He joked that he was ‘similar to Harry’ in his technique and goalscoring prowess. “So it’s only natural that we’re compared,” he added with a smile. “In all seriousness, I know I don’t get many goals, but I feel like the goals that I do get seem to be important.

“So, I’d love for it to be in a World Cup final, a last-minute winner, I would love that more than anything. But we will have to wait and see.”

Burn, 34, born and bred in Blyth, Northumberland, said England has players like Marcus Rashford and Morgan Rogers who can come off the bench and change a game.

They have been team building with basketball, backgammon and ‘Werewolf’ where you have to guess who is lying.

“It has been an exciting tournament, there are games on all the time. Watching Messi rolling back the years, at his age —not sure if you can say that – you realise you are at a tournament with the best players in the world.

“The ‘Werewolf’ game does get heated, I have been watching a few of them to work out who the best liars are. The moments we are away from football really count. Whether it is at baseball or elsewhere, you really learn about people.”

He is backing Jude Bellingham to make a difference for the side as he says his team mates can sense when he is ‘really on it” and the star, just 22, raises the England perfomance level.

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