Dan Burn has urged England to create a true “brotherhood” and emulate Argentina’s togetherness, if they want to find World Cup success.
England are among the favourites to win the World Cup this year, with only Spain (16.1%) and France (13%) given a higher chance by the Opta supercomputer (England’s chances are 11.2%).
The Three Lions qualified for the tournament with a 100% record in qualifying (eight wins from eight), and did so without conceding a single goal, giving them a strong platform to build on.
However, Thomas Tuchel has spoken about building a brotherhood among his players to boost relationships within the team, while Jude Bellingham hinted that a strong connection was missing from the squad on their run to the Euro 2024 final.
England begin their World Cup campaign against Croatia in Dallas on Wednesday, and Burn is keen for them to make a positive start, having worked hard to create a strong bond.
“Obviously, it’s hard for me to comment on what went on when I wasn’t here [in Euro 2024],” he said.
“But we’ve made a big thing about that since the very first camp we had together, about having this brotherhood and being together.
“I feel like a lot of the time, the team that end up winning tournaments like these are the teams who are close.
Down to work in KC pic.twitter.com/kbzDP1WH8w
— England (@England) June 13, 2026
“If you look at Argentina at the last World Cup, you felt as if they were really fighting for each other.
“That’s what we’re wanting to do. I think it’s hard sometimes, you don’t see each other for a long amount of time, and you have quite superficial conversations.
“It’s normally just like, ‘hi, how are you?’ But it’s about trying to get to know each other on a deeper level.”
Tuchel gave Burn his first international call-up in March 2025, and he has since made nine appearances for England.
Though it is not yet clear how much of a part the defender will play on the pitch, he is looking forward to assisting in whatever way he can.
“Personally, for me, I just want to be here and help the team however possible that is: whether I start, whether I come on, whether I don’t play a minute, I’ll not feel I have contributed any less than anyone else,” he said.
“I think that’s important. I feel like this is the type of tournament where we have players who are the stars for their clubs normally, and they’re going to have to take a little bit of a different role.
“That’s leaning into that brotherhood thing again, where we are just happy for each other and happy to help out as much as we can.”
