Burn credits Disney World acclimatisation for England’s heat resilience
England’s warm-weather preparations in the US see half the squad travel early, with Dan Burn citing pre-tournament family holiday as key to coping with Tampa conditions during New Zealand friendly
England defender Dan Burn has attributed his successful adaptation to the humid conditions in Tampa to a pre-tournament family holiday at Disney World in Florida. The 34-year-old Newcastle United player arrived in the United States a week before the national squad’s official warm-weather camp commenced, utilising the downtime to acclimatise to the heat ahead of the World Cup.
Burn’s proactive approach appears to have yielded tangible results during Saturday’s 1-0 friendly victory against New Zealand. Speaking after the match, the defender noted that his early arrival allowed him to manage the humidity effectively, stating he did not notice the heat as much as he had anticipated. He credited the Disney trip with providing a necessary head start, contrasting the Florida conditions with the cooler climate of Newcastle.
The strategy of early arrival was not unique to Burn. Approximately half of the England squad travelled across the Atlantic prior to the official camp start to gain a similar environmental advantage. Burn acknowledged this split within the group, noting that while he felt significantly better prepared for the conditions than expected, he could not speak to the experiences of his teammates who remained in the UK.
Burn’s inclusion in the squad follows his maiden call-up in March 2025 under manager Thomas Tuchel, marking a significant milestone in a career that has seen him rise from non-league football and work at Asda to starring for his boyhood club. Beyond the tactical preparations, Burn offered a candid assessment of the friendly, describing the match against New Zealand as an opportunity to reinforce core training principles rather than a display of peak performance.
England are now based in West Palm Beach, where they utilised different line-ups for each half of the New Zealand fixture. The squad is preparing to face Costa Rica in Orlando on Wednesday, with Burn indicating that the focus will shift to intensifying the principles established during the first warm-up game as the tournament approaches.
