England forward No. 19 Ollie Watkins (left) and defender No. 6 Marc Guehi celebrate after the UEFA Euro 2024 semi-final match between the Netherlands and England at the BVB Stadium in Dortmund on July 10, 2024. (Photo: AFP)
DORTMUND, Germany (AFP) — England took a long time to hit their stride in Germany but late drama and their best performance of the tournament saw them beat the Netherlands 2-1 and head to Berlin to face Spain in the Euro 2024 final on Sunday.
Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins was England’s unlikely hero when he scored the winning goal in added time against Dortmund despite having played just 20 minutes in their previous five games.
England manager Gareth Southgate has often been criticised for failing to change games from the bench despite a wealth of talent on his hands, but he won praise at Dortmund for some bold substitutions that proved decisive.
“We all want to be loved, don’t we? So when you do something for your country and you’re a proud British person and you don’t get the rewards and you just read all the criticism, it hurts,” Southgate told reporters.
“So to be able to celebrate a second final is very special.”
After a dominant first half, the game looked out of whack and Southgate brought on Watkins and Cole Palmer for captain Harry Kane and Phil Foden 10 minutes from time.
The two substitutes combined forces for Watkins to receive Palmer’s pass, spin and fire a low, powerful shot into the far corner to send England to their first major final on foreign soil.
Spain will be the favourites to reach the final after surviving a tough draw with a near perfect record, beating hosts Germany and France.
England’s road to the final was far more winding and less visually pleasing.
But after surviving late equalisers against Slovakia and Switzerland in the previous two rounds, England finally showed the resilience to match their showdown with the Netherlands.
Southgate said on the eve of the match his players’ mentality had shifted from fear of failure to enthusiasm for what’s to come this weekend.
– Foden takes centre stage –
England had come from behind for the third consecutive game and just seven minutes into the match, Xavi Simons’ blistering strike sent a huge crowd into a frenzy, turning Dortmund’s famous yellow wall orange.
But if the grit of Southgate’s side shone through against Slovakia and Switzerland and helped them survive the tournament, this time the response was immediate.
Kane tested Bert Verbruggen and was caught by Denzel Dumfries as he tried to block, earning England a controversial penalty.
He missed a crucial penalty against France at the 2022 World Cup but showed no signs of being shaken, firing a low, powerful shot into Verbruggen’s goal to move him level at the top of the goalscoring table with three goals.
Kane’s sixth knockout goal set a new European Championship record.
The team was emboldened by the equaliser and suddenly proved why they were considered favourites to win the tournament before the match even began. After struggling and seemingly losing five straight games, the team was emboldened by the equaliser.
Since the quarter-finals, Southgate has made changes to his system, using former Manchester City and Real Madrid pair Foden and Jude Bellingham as key players, and this has suddenly started to pay off.
Foden has been in the shadow of Bellingham so far at the Euros, despite being named Premier League Player of the Year during City’s triumph.
This time it was Foden who took centre stage, dismantling the Dutch defence with delicate touches and incisive runs in behind.
Dumfries cleared his shot on the goal line to deny him his first goal of the tournament by just centimetres, before he struck the post from distance.
After two rounds of extra time, England’s energy reserves were tested by a much more subdued second half.
But Southgate has learned from defeats to Croatia in the 2018 World Cup semi-final and Italy in the Euro 2020 final and has injected fresh energy from the bench.
He was rewarded with a second consecutive Euro final and the chance to end 58 years of suffering in English football in Berlin.
“The players sing in the locker room but are straight on the ice,” said Southgate, with his sights firmly set on winning.
