England have found their secret weapon to counter Erling Haaland after Mexico World Cup heroics

Analysis

Suraj Radia | Editor

England overcame Mexico in a dramatic win at the 2026 World Cup but, in the process, they may have inadvertently unleashed their secret weapon to overcome Erling Haaland and Norway in the next round.

England came out as 3-2 winners against Mexico in the round of 16, with the victory sealed by a masterclass defensive performance in the final 15 minutes, having gone down to ten men early in the second half after Jarell Quansah’s red card.

Thomas Tuchel opted to bring on Djed Spence and Dan Burn in the 74th minute in a move that saw England shut up shop to try and contain the momentum of their opponents and hold onto their slender lead.

The decision proved a masterstroke as Burn in particular thrived against a Mexico side who had chosen to launch crosses into the box to try and capitalise on the height advantage of striker Raul Jimenez against England’s centre-backs.

In just 15 minutes of action, as well as 11 minutes of injury time, Burn made eight defensive contributions and a joint-game-high six clearances, four of which were headers to cap a memorable World Cup debut for the 34-year-old.

With England likely to need another makeshift backline in the quarter-finals against Norway, the introduction of the tallest player in Tuchel’s 26-man squad provides hope that Burn can counter Haaland and bring the striker’s red-hot form to a screeching halt.

Dan Burn: England saviour and Haaland’s kryptonite?

Haaland will face off against England fresh off scoring a brace to lead Norway to a first-ever World Cup quarter final with a historic win over Brazil to knock out the five-time winners.

The double now sees Haaland join Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe as the tournament’s top scorers with seven goals each and England go into the match needing to make changes to their defensive unit following Quansah’s sending off.

The 23-year-old was shown a straight red in the 54th minute against Mexico after a reckless challenge, which prompted Tuchel to move Ezri Konsa to right-back and bring on John Stones in the middle.

The right-back spot has proven a problem position for England at the World Cup so far, having already seen Tino Livramento ruled out of the tournament days before it began, while Reece James may not be fit for the remainder of the competition following a hamstring strain.

Spence is the only other natural right-back available to Tuchel but he was only fit enough for the bench, with Quansah starting instead, and it remains to be seen whether the Tottenham man will be given the nod against Norway.

However, Konsa is the only outfield player to feature in every minute of England’s World Cup so far and the 28-year-old may be preferred to deputise at right-back against Norway to allow the inclusion of Burn or Stones to provide a direct counter to Haaland’s aerial prowess.

Haaland is at least five inches taller than England’s usual centre-back pairing of Konsa and Marc Guehi and Burn could prove the perfect counter to the Norwegian, having regularly faced off with the Manchester City man during his appearances with Newcastle.

In seven matches against Burn at club level, Haaland has scored just one goal, and the duo have often enjoyed a heated and physical battle which could be renewed in the World Cup on Saturday.

Ultimately, no matter what happens, the performance of Burn against Mexico will have vindicated Tuchel’s much-discussed decision to include him in the squad and the big centre-back could continue to show his quality with another valiant display against Haaland.