England defender Dan Burn's unconventional route to World Cup hero status - from Asda to the Azteca
Dan Burn's heroics in Mexico's Estadio Azteca are the remarkable culmination of a career peppered with setbacks which saw him work as shelf-stacker in his local Asda
Dan Burn's trajectory to the pinnacle of world football is unlike any of his England compatriots.
The colossal 6ft 7ins defender - whose heroics as a substitute against Mexico in the iconic Estadio Azteca have earned him a new legion of fans - never played academy football. He was released from Newcastle's now-defunct Centre of Excellence as an 11-year-old by a letter on Christmas Eve.
At 16 he struggled to pin down a regular spot in an amateur Saturday team. And as his hopes of playing professional football seemed to flicker away, he worked as a shelf-stacker in Asda earning minimum wage.
But now - after being subbed on in the 75th minute with England leading 3-2, down to 10 men and facing a barrage of Mexican attacks - Burn is shining with a Three Lions squad making history on the biggest stage.
Hie role in possibly England's biggest World Cup victory marks the latest chapter in a career which has seen him go from a supermarket trolley pusher to an integral part of Newcastle United's team that secured his first domestic trophy in 70 years after wining the EFL Cup last year.
After failing to make the grade in Newcastle United's academy as a youngster, Ashington-born, Blyth-raised Burn captained his school team at Blyth Community College before going to sixth form at Cramlington to do a sports diploma. In need of money, Burn's father, David, who had been a store manager at Asda, got him an interview at the supermarket.
Burn previously told newcastleunited.com: "I was pushing trolleys. I did that every Saturday for the best part of a year. I remember turning up in my suit, just seeing what job I could get.
"That was the only job they had on offer. I was like, 'Yeah, sound'. I did a few other things but my main job was that. I stacked shelves, did the freezer work, the bread and all that.
"I think it helped, because when I moved into football, I knew I never wanted to do that again. Not to be disrespectful, but I knew I didn't enjoy doing that and I wanted to do something else. I've always felt that it's spurred us on a bit more."
After periods with Blyth Spartans and New Hartley's junior sides, Burn eventually earned a trial at Darlington, who offered him a deal in the summer of 2009. Burn said: “It was £9.23 an hour. It was decent.
"But I tell you what, I got more working four days a month at ASDA than I did when I first signed for Darlo. I was on £55 quid a week at Darlington and worked 10 hours.”
Since then, Burn has risen through the ranks. Loan spells at Fulham, Yeovil Town and Birmingham culminated in signing for Brighton before moving to his boyhood club Newcastle United in 2022. He was an unlikely pick in Thomas Tuchel's squad earlier this year.
But his incredible performance to help England reach Saturday's World Cup Quarter Final match against Norway is the latest in a career peppered with remarkable achievements - demonstrating a resilience forged from early disappointment.
He said: "I've had a lot of knockbacks like that in my career, I feel, but I've always bounced back from them. It's just made me more determined to prove people wrong."
Earlier this year Burn was forced to miss his younger brother Jack's wedding and stag do after an international call-up for England's matches against Andorra and Senegal. But his success is a source of pride in his family.
In 2023, before Newcastle' EFL Cup Final loss to manchester-united-fc>Manchester United, Burn's father wrote a tear-jerking open letter to his son.
David opened up on the pride he felt for his boy, explaining how the centre-back-turned-left-back had gone from getting rejected and "pushing trollies at Asda" to playing with the very best "on the world stage"
He wrote: "Your resilience, your perseverance, should be an inspiration to every young kid in the North East. You are no Peter Beardsley, but you proved that sheer determination and hard work can take you far. As our fellow fans sing, 'You’ll never, ever beat Dan Burn.' You are living the dream of so many and you understand that responsibility."