DORTMUND, Germany – England reached a second successive European Championship final by beating the Netherlands 2-1 thanks to substitute Ollie Watkins’ stoppage-time winner on Wednesday.
Watkins, who replaced captain Harry Kane in a bold call from manager Gareth Southgate, turned and fired a powerful shot into the bottom corner in the first minute of stoppage time.
England will face Lamine Yamal and Spain in Sunday’s final in Berlin. It will be the country’s first title challenge on foreign soil, after winning the World Cup in 1966 and losing to Italy in the Euro 2020 final – both times at Wembley Stadium.
In an open first half, Harry Kane’s 18th-minute penalty canceled out Xavi Simons’ brilliant goal for the Dutch in the seventh minute.
Watkins had made just one previous appearance at Euro 2024 – as a substitute in the group stage game against Denmark – so it came as a surprise when he was introduced by Southgate in England’s biggest match to date.
The gamble paid off.
“Unbelievable – I’ve been waiting for this moment for weeks,” said Watkins, the Aston Villa striker who was the Premier League’s fourth-highest scorer last season. . I had the opportunity and I grabbed it with both hands.”
The fact that the goal was scored by Cole Palmer, another substitute, will also have pleased Southgate.
“I told (Palmer), ‘Let’s go in and you’re going to set me up,'” Watkins said. “I knew as soon as he got the ball, he was going to play with me. .When it went into the bottom corner, it was the best feeling ever.
The sea of orange in the Westfalenstadion’s gigantic south stand fell silent. It housed the most vocal Dutch fans who dominated the city center before marching in their thousands to the stadium before the game. Police reported three separate clashes between fans from both countries in the city.
It gave the occasion the feel of a home game for the Dutch and England, who came from behind to progress through the round of 16 and quarter-finals, faced even more after 21-year-old Simons became their second-highest goalscorer. young man on the team. Netherlands in euros.
The Paris Saint-Germain midfielder knocked Declan Rice off balance from around 40 yards, advanced and shot from outside the box into the far corner.
Compared to 16-year-old Yamal, Spain’s new star, Simons is a football veteran, but this was yet another case of a young player shining on the big Euro stage.
Kane has had many great moments in major tournaments and had another when he scored a penalty after Denzel Dumfries’ outstretched leg touched Kane’s foot as the England striker attempted a shot.
Kane became the sixth player to score three goals in the tournament.
An open first half, which saw Dumfries and England’s Phil Foden hit the post, paved the way for a tense and tense second half where chances were limited.
Bukayo Saka had a goal ruled out for narrow offside before Kane went for Watkins in what could be Southgate’s best decision in his eight years in charge of England.
“It’s going to be incredibly difficult – a really difficult game,” Kane said of the final against Spain, who are widely regarded as having played their best football so far in the tournament.
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