Gareth Southgate’s England beat the Netherlands in the final minutes of a nail-biting semi-final to reach the final of the ongoing EURO 2024 in Germany. The three Lions have been less than convincing in the run up to the last 4 and were considered the underdog to the Dutch side but a late goal from Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins who came off the bench to replace captain Harry Kane settled the tie. The goal was set up by Chelsea’s Cole Palmer who also came off the bench to repay Southgate’s faith in him.
The Netherlands took the lead early in the first half through Xavi Simmons who blasted the ball past England’s goalkeeper, Jordan Pickford, from 25-yards out and quickly turned the famous Dortmund ‘Yellow Wall’ orange as the Dutch fans bounced and cheered their team on. The celebrations would not last very long as England were awarded a controversial penalty that was smartly converted by Harry Kane.
The match was fairly even till Cole Palmer and Ollie Watkins entered the fray and shifted the dynamics in England’s favour, taking them to a consecutive EURO final.
Speaking after the game, the match winner, Watkins, said “It’s unbelievable. I’ve been waiting for that moment for weeks.” Dutch captain, Virgil van Dijk, was less cheerful, he told reporters “I have no words for this. When you concede so late, it’s terrible. This hurts a lot. You give it your all and if it still turns out like that, it sucks.”
