THOMAS TUCHEL’S latest England squad included a handful of fresh faces, with 32-year-old Dan Burn set to become one of England’s oldest debutants.
Up-and-comers Miles Lewis-Skelly, 18, and Jarrell Quansah, 22, will both hope to make their senior England debuts in World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia.
Burn, though, is Quansah’s senior by a decade, and is set to become the oldest England debutant since Kevin Davies in October 2010.
Davies made his England bow at 33 against Montenegro, replacing Peter Crouch to play 21 minutes of the goalless draw.
It would prove to be the only England appearance of the Bolton Wanderers star’s career.
Burn will hope to prove his worth to Tuchel ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
While Burn could become the oldest debutant for almost 15 years, he is far from the oldest ever.
He will fail even to crack the top 20 oldest debutants.
In the early days of international football, managers were far more patient with older players than they are now.
Crystal Palace goalkeeper Alec Morten captained the Three Lions on debut in their second ever match – a 4-2 win over Scotland – aged 41 or 42 years old.
BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS
His birthdate is disputed, listed by various sources as either 1831 or 1832.
The oldest debutant with a confirmed birthday is Arsenal defender Leslie Compton, who also played professional cricket for Middlesex.
His debut came in a 4-2 win over Wales in 1950, at 38 years and 64 days old.
Among the goalscorers on the day was Newcastle legend Jackie Milburn, who scored 201 goals in 399 appearances for the Magpies over a 12-year career.
Should he play during the March international break, Burn will rank 21st among the oldest debutants, sandwiched between Portsmouth’s Jack Smith (1931) and Manchester City goalkeeper Frank Swift (1946).
Burn will be older than more recent debutants in Leon Osman (2012), Rickie Lambert (2013), and Tom Heaton (2016).
