England head coach Thomas Tuchel labelled a player “unprofessional” after calling him up to the Three Lions squad for the first time.
Tuchel has become famous for not just his tactics but also for calling out his players if he is unhappy with their performances on the pitch or their behaviour off it.
Having began his duty as England’s head coach on January 1 2025, the former Chelsea, Bayern Munich, and PSG manager has given various players the opportunity to make a name for themselves in the national team.
However, before the March international break, in which England defeated Albania and Latvia, Tuchel called one player up to the Three Lions squad for the first time, only to call him “unprofessional” during text exchange.
Tuchel named Newcastle United defender Dan Burn in his squad for the March fixtures and called him to tell him the good news.
Dan Burn applauds the fans at the end of the FIFA World Cup 2026 European Qualifier match between Andorra and England. (Photo by Alex Caparros – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
When asked about how he was informed of his call-up during a press conference at the time, Burn explained: “The manager FaceTimed us on Tuesday and said that they were debating calling us (me) up, and would let us know on Thursday.
“Then it got to six o’clock Thursday night, (I had) not heard anything, so I said to my wife, ‘nothing’s going to happen’.
“I got a text saying ‘Are you still awake’ at 10. I was like ‘Yes’, straight away.
“First of all, he said I was very unprofessional for not being in bed at 10 o’clock, so I apologised for that.”
Tuchel who is known to be funny made the ‘unprofessional’ claim in jest.
Since the admission, Tuchel has handed the Magpies defender two caps – against Albania and Latvia – as well as calling him up for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia.
Reece James, Marc Guehi, John Stones, Ezri Konsa, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Tino Livramento, and Djed Spence make up the defenders in the squad.
Currently one of the oldest players in the squad, Burn will be 34 when the World Cup holds next year and it remains to be seen whether the 33-year-old will make the cut.
Nonetheless, Burn is backing himself to make Tuchel’s squad and admitted that playing in a World Cup was “every kid’s dream” when speaking to England Football in March.
“I’d never played any international football, and I did think it had passed us by at 32,” Burn said.
“But when the new manager came in, it was that feeling of ‘you never know’.”
