Ollie Watkins became England's man of the hour in Dortmund, biding his time on the bench before delivering a lethal strike to seal a 2-1 win over the Netherlands and send the Three Lions to the Euro 2024 final.
Watkins had only previously played 20 minutes in the tournament, but was called upon with 10 remaining after Gareth Southgate's side's early spark had blown out and they were drifting towards extra-time for the third game in a row. But the Aston Villa striker, receiving a pass from fellow substitute Cole Palmer, took one touch before swivelling and firing into the bottom corner. The goal sent England into a second consecutive Euros final, where they will face Spain on Sunday.
England had produced their best 45 minutes in Germany, hemming the Dutch into their own final third for large parts of the first half. But they only had a 1-1 scoreline to show for it and their goal was thanks to a generous penalty award from VAR.
Harry Kane slotted from the spot after being caught by Denzel Dumfries to cancel out Xavi Simons piledriver. Phil Foden then hit the post and had a shot scrambled off the line by Dumfries, who hit the crossbar at the other end. A thrilling first half made way for a speculative and dull second, the most excitement coming when Bukayo Saka scored but had the goal ruled out for offside.
Southgate finally looked to his bench and gave Watkins his chance. The striker certainly took it..
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