England’s defensive hierarchy has been turned on its head by a 6ft 7in Geordie.
By his own admission, Dan Burn has had the most incredible eight days of his 16-year professional footballing life. Called up by England for the first time at the age of 32, two days later he then scored at Wembley and lifted the Carabao Cup for his boyhood club Newcastle to end their 70-year domestic trophy drought, before being handed an England debut against Albania on Friday.
He managed two outstanding Wembley performances in the space of a week. But it was the second of those, in Thomas Tuchel’s first game in charge of the national team, which has uprooted our thinking about England’s defensive branch.
Paul Merson and the Soccer Saturday team give their verdict on Thomas Tuchel’s first game in charge of England
For the last 12 months, Marc Guehi has been England’s most consistent centre-back, with the Crystal Palace man first on the national team sheet, and partnered in the starting XI by a host of different players. He started six out of seven matches for England at Euro 2024, missing only the quarter-final against Switzerland because of suspension. Guehi has consistently been top of the pecking order under Gareth Southgate, and more recently under Lee Carsley.
But it seems Tuchel may have other ideas. The 24-year-old was relegated to the bench for the World Cup qualifier on Friday, which suggests the two starters against Albania – Ezri Konsa and Burn – are Tuchel’s current favourites, with the injured John Stones and Harry Maguire yet to come back into the England reckoning. Guehi was struggling with a sore knee a month ago, but has played three full matches since then, so injury concerns don’t seem to be at play here.
“It was a simple decision to bring him in (Burn) after the huge final and I didn’t want to disturb his wave – he’s on a good run,” Tuchel told ITV. “It could have been Marc Guehi, it could have been Levi Colwill but we went for Dan. He’s been impressive in training, very vocal. It’s like it’s his 50th cap, not his first.”
Guehi’s demotion most startling decision by Tuchel so far
Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi was an unused substitute in England’s win over Albania on Friday
It’s significant that Tuchel has talked up Burn’s on-pitch communication and leadership skills. That’s something the German has called for more of in this England team, and perhaps isn’t one of Guehi’s strengths. His is a more quiet, gentle form of influence on his team-mates – which is certainly more in keeping with Southgate’s character than Tuchel’s.
But either way, Guehi’s demotion from England’s first-choice defence is perhaps the most startling and decisive decision made so far in the new Tuchel era.
When it comes to club form, this season’s Premier League stats would suggest Guehi is the best-performing all-round English defender. He is way ahead of the rest for winning back possession – 118 times compared with his nearest rival, Colwill, who has 87 – which is something Tuchel has said is a priority for this England team.
The Saturday Social panel make their predictions and debate which players from Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad will go to the 2026 World Cup.
Guehi is top-ranked by a distance for the number of successful tackles too – 48 in total this season, with Colwill his closest competitor on 34. And Guehi is joint-top with Burn for the number of duels won (142).
Harry Maguire has made more interceptions – 35 compared to Guehi’s 21 – and Burn, unsurprisingly, has won more aerial duels – 101 versus 62. But the Palace defender is joint-top with Colwill for blocks (21). And at the other end of the pitch, Guehi has had more goal involvements (5) than any of his rivals – the closest are John Stones and Colwill, both with two.
Rob Dorsett and Sam Blitz react to England’s win over Albania and discuss what Thomas Tuchel could change in his second game in charge.
It’s been made very clear that Tuchel has been given just one target by his FA bosses, and that he is single-minded in his desire to win the World Cup. His withering criticism of Southgate’s England side – who he says were more afraid of losing than excited to win – is a case in point. As is his demand for England’s current players to be more critical of each other, to “dig each other out” as the captain put it, both on and off the pitch. Tuchel will be ruthless as he pursues his goal, and he wants no-more-mister-nice-guy from his players too.
You’d expect Tuchel to make changes to his starting XI to face Latvia on Monday night, which will almost certainly see changes in the wide attacking areas of the pitch and may well include defensive tweaks too.
But Tuchel’s first team selection should be viewed as a marker of the manager’s mindset; the cornerstone to which all other team selections will be compared. Burn is the current medal winner; Guehi has been left sensationally back in the barracks. But you suspect there will be further collateral damage as Tuchel’s mission for world domination gathers pace.
