MEXICO CITY -- There are so many moments from England's historic 3-2 win over Mexico which could make the montage. The goals, obviously. But then there's Jude Bellingham's last-ditch tackle at the back post, Jordan Pickford's Gordon Banks-esque save, Anthony Gordon darting past the right-back as an early statement of intent. Or perhaps the memory which sums this all up was Dan Burn sticking his head in front of anything and everything thrown at him.
It was a historic night, the England men's team's finest win on foreign soil. For all the talk of altitude, Mexico's record at the formidable Azteca Stadium, the passion of the fans, and England's patchy form, they put together a performance of sheer bloody-mindedness to drag themselves through to the quarterfinals. And all with 10 men from the 54th minute, and having every touch booed to the heavens, and without their first choice right-back. Tuchel talks about this group being a "brotherhood." We saw that on Sunday evening.
"This team has a heart and a mentality and a togetherness which is one of a kind," Tuchel said afterwards. "This is not possible if you're not a group that's not glued together with the right spirit, and we made it possible against all odds, and we're very proud of that."
The atmosphere was genuinely unique. Long before Declan Rice got things going, even before locals finished their breakfast, the streets near El Ángel were filling. The drums were ringing out, the song started. The party was underway, about 10 hours before kick-off. Once you got to the Azteca, amid the thunder and lightning, the party continued. Folks sheltered, but the storm did little to dampen moods. And even the one-hour delay to kick off did little to quieten the incredible Mexican support in the stadium. This is a footballing experience like none other. To cover the delay, they went through a fine back catalogue of English indie hits. Each were drowned out with boos. All the while, England went about their preparations, looking to live up to Tuchel's promise that things would click when it mattered, trusting in the "brotherhood" ethos he's prioritised for this World Cup.
Back on May 22 when Thomas Tuchel unveiled his squad, he said he picked some "specialists" for "different scenarios." They'd be a group in the squad who likely wouldn't start but would be relied on to train the house down and keep spirits high. Burn is one of England's NFL-esque "special teams" players. "We have players ready and committed to the idea of team spirit and being unselfish," he said at the time.
We saw this plan manifest to help England close out the match. In the 72nd minute, there was the delayed second-half hydration break. Nico O'Reilly and Jorge Sánchez had both been booked, the referee was losing his grip on the match as it threatened to boil over, and Tuchel was getting increasingly animated on the touchline. England were 3-2 up, attempting to protect their slender lead, and playing a 4-3-2 formation. John Stones had replaced Bukayo Saka after Quansah's red card 16 minutes previous, Ezri Konsa moved to right back, but as the minutes ticked on, and the frequency and ferocity of Mexico's attacks grew, Tuchel activated his "specialists." Burn and Spence came on and England shifted to a 5-3-1.
"I knew what was expected from me," Burn said afterwards. "With my height, it would be defending shots, blocking crosses and just trying to grind it out." For all the scenario-mapping, this was unchartered territory: England 3-2 up in the Azteca, down to 10 men. "Failure of planning, I didn't see this coming: Ezri ended up as a wing-back, Anthony Gordon ended up as an 8 with Morgan Rogers, Jude as a 9," Tuchel said. From there they blocked anything and everything. This is where the collective team spirit he's placed so much weight on came to the fore, with Burn instrumental.
Back in March 2025, Burn was one of Tuchel's early rabbits plucked from the hat in his first squad announcement. He handed Burn his debut later that month against Albania, and Tuchel kept the faith with the Newcastle man in the following squads so when he needed someone to put their body on the line to help England create history in the Azteca, he turned to the 6-foot-7, 34-year-old in the 72nd minute. "I knew that I was being brought [to the World Cup] for a certain reason," Burn said. "I probably wasn't going to start, but there was going to be opportunities in the game where we're trying to see a game out or maybe go for a goal that I was going to get it. I've been desperate to get on the pitch. I'm very proud to have played for England at a World Cup. I never thought I'd be saying that when I first started playing football."
As you watch back the last 21 minutes of the 90 minutes and additional 11 in injury time, England put everything on the line. Pickford is flying through the air, Spence makes a key block late on Santiago Gimenez, Stones diverts the ball just outside his own post in the closing stages to prevent a Mexico chance, while the other players scurried around, trying to prevent the deep Mexico crosses targeting England's back post. Burn was there heading everything away, including one clearance which reached the other half. Then there was the moment Burn headed the ball off Raul Jimenez's boot as he attempted an overheard kick, and he finished with the last-gasp block on Álvaro Fidalgo in the penultimate passage of play of the match.
"I just feel that we got a real team in the building," Tuchel said. "If you turn back and ask one player to do something extraordinary or just a task in the game, they're just ready to go. It's a beautiful thing, a rare thing to have. We're not gambling on the spirit and that's what you see now."
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What we saw at the Azteca, in the cacophonous atmosphere, was Tuchel's England philosophy in practice. It was a collective effort, egos completely parked. There was Jordan Henderson on the touchline getting his booking in the 100th minute for essentially getting on the referee's nerves, there was Bellingham limping to the final corner and still making his presence felt, Pickford there stopping anything and everything. And there was Burn.
"Forty, 50 minutes with 10 men is nearly impossible. The players are exhausted," Tuchel said. "But it's beautiful that players on that level give everything for the team, for the country and for the shirt. This is a special group."
